It's Right There
by CoffeeDrinker
Summary: [Complete] Luke/Lorelai. She looked him in the eye, she saw something there, and she realized she felt the same way.
1. Parts 1 to 8

TITLE: "It's Right There" 

PAIRING: Lorelai/Luke

SPOILER: Takes place after "It Should've Been Lorelai."

DISTRIBUTION: Please ask permission first.

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and the WB.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Okay, as most of you know, the first version of the story was removed from the site due to adult content (well, that's what I'm assuming). . . so I'm back with another version of the story. Those of you who want to read the original NC-17 version can find it in the archives of the GilmoreGirlsAdultFic yahoo group. 

* * *

"It's Right There – parts 1 – 8"

* * * 

PART 1

* * *

Lorelai lay in her bed, biting her lip nervously as she thought about what had happened just minutes before. The scene played through her mind over and over. The tone of Christopher's voice, the anger on his face, the embarrassment she felt as he stood there yelling at her in the middle of the diner. It was all so vivid in her mind and made her wince every time she thought about it. 

After the scene had taken place, she couldn't stay there any longer. As soon as Rory had come back into the diner, Lorelai had made an excuse to get out of there, pretending she wasn't feeling well and explaining that she had to go home to lie down. Rory offered to go with her but Lorelai insisted that she stay and eat, handing her some money and leaving the diner in a rush. 

And that's where she was now, staring at the ceiling feeling confused and upset. She realized that it was partially her fault, that maybe telling Christopher how she was feeling wasn't the brightest idea, especially since he had been the one waiting for her all of those years. But still, his overreaction made Lorelai so mad – and the fact that he had gotten so angry made her wonder what exactly was going on in his mind. 

However, Lorelai had to admit that what she had said to him was true. She was ready to let go of that picture of them together, ready to realize that she would now be able to love someone else like she had loved Christopher, ready to move on. 

When Rory arrived home, she found her mom upstairs on her bed with her hands across her face. "Mom? How are you? Are you okay?" she asked, obviously concerned.

Lorelai removed her hands and opened her eyes, forcing a smile. "Yeah, hon, I'm feeling better already. Just needed to lie down, that's all."

"Oh, good. Can I get you anything?" Rory asked, sitting down next to her on the bed.

Lorelai shook her head. "No, thanks." She placed her hands behind her head and closed her eyes. Rory leaned back against the pillow and did the same thing. 

"Mom?" 

"Hmm?"

"What did you mean when you said, should it have been me?" Rory asked quietly.

Lorelai didn't answer her right away. She opened her eyes and saw Rory staring at her. Lorelai sighed and said, "I don't know. It's . . . it's nothing, really. Just something that your grandma said last night."

"She said that it should've been you?" Rory asked, narrowing her eyes. "It should have been you doing what?"

Lorelai sighed. "Doing nothing. It's no big deal. Forget it."

"Well, you wanted to know my opinion half an hour ago, why don't you want to know it now?" Rory asked.

Lorelai let out a deep sigh. "Trust me, a lot can change in thirty minutes, especially with my big mouth."

"With your big . . ." Rory paused for a moment.

"Rory, forget it, it's nothing," Lorelai insisted.

"Did something happen with Dad?" Rory asked.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Rory, please, I don't want to talk about it right now."

"But something happened with Dad, didn't it?" Rory persisted.

Lorelai sat up with an exasperated sigh. "Yes, something happened with Dad. We had an argument and I do not want to talk about it right now, Rory. Please drop it?" she begged.

Rory nodded quickly. "Okay, sorry." She leaned over and hugged Lorelai, then stood up. "I'm gonna go work on some homework."

"Thank you." Lorelai fell back against her pillows with a sigh as Rory walked out of the room.

* * * 

Two days later, on Monday morning, Lorelai walked into the Independence Inn, her high heels clicking rhythmically as she walked towards the kitchen. She pushed open the door and immediately headed for the coffee maker. "Morning Sookie," she said, not even looking around. She poured herself a cup of coffee and brought it to her nose, inhaling the aroma deeply before taking a sip. 

Hearing nothing in return, she finally glanced up and looked for Sookie. She scanned the kitchen, seeing a number of other chefs mustering around, but narrowed her eyes at Sookie's absence. She walked towards the door to the dining room and pushed it open. She stuck her head out and glanced around. "Hmm," she said, not seeing Sookie there either. She walked back across the kitchen, shrugging to herself as she started to head back into the lobby. 

Suddenly the back door flew open and Sookie hurried in carrying a crate. She placed it on the counter next to two others as Jackson walked through the door carrying two more. "Sookie, you really didn't have to help, I could've made another trip to get it."

"Yes, I know," Sookie replied. "But the sooner we get them in, the sooner I can start." She walked to the sink and washed her hands, then walked back to the crate and pulled out several containers of strawberries.

Lorelai walked towards them. "Hey. Whatcha got there?" She leaned against the counter and sipped her coffee. 

Sookie looked at her and smiled. "Oh, morning honey," Sookie said. She pulled out a stack of large bowls and lined them up in front of her.

"Sookie wants to make a bunch of fruit topped pancakes for the breakfast buffet today," Jackson said with a sigh.

Lorelai nodded. "Ah, and she decided this when?"

Jackson checked his watch. "Thirty minutes ago." 

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Of course. That's my maestro."

Jackson sighed. "Okay, I think you have everything you need Sookie. Now can I go back to my scheduled deliveries?"

Sookie smiled at him. "Yes, goodbye," she replied. "Thank you."

Lorelai gave Jackson a wave as he headed out the back door. She watched as Sookie took out a container of blueberries and dumped them into one of the bowls. "So what's up with you, honey? Anything new?"

Lorelai sighed.

Sookie winced. "Yikes, that wasn't a good sigh. What happened?"

Lorelai clenched her eyes shut tight. "Oh God, Sookie. Me and Christopher had sort of a blow up in the diner on Saturday."

Sookie gasped. "A blow up? What happened?"

With a deep breath, Lorelai started to explain the details of what she had said to Christopher and how he had angrily stormed off. They spent a few minutes analyzing how he had reacted, and finally Lorelai headed back to the front desk, still confused about the situation but feeling better that she had talked to someone about it.

* * * 

That night, Lorelai arrived home slightly before five, surprised to find that Rory wasn't home yet. She changed out of her work outfit and waited on the couch for her, flipping loosely through Entertainment Weekly. 

Rory finally walked in fifteen minutes later, her arms loaded down with a stack of folders. She dropped her bag on the floor and sighed loudly as she walked towards the couch and collapsed on it next to Lorelai.

"Rough day?" Lorelai asked. Rory nodded. She took the stack of folders from Rory and put them on the coffee table. "Franklin stuff?"

Rory nodded and leaned her head back against the couch. "Ugh, I'm so tired."

Lorelai frowned and patted Rory's arm. "Aw, my baby is stressed. So am I. Go get changed and we'll go to Luke's." 

Rory said, "Okay, in a minute." She closed her eyes and relaxed for a moment before she finally stood up, gathered her things and dragged herself towards her room. 

* * *

They entered Luke's and found an empty table as Rory concluded the story of her tiring day, ending it with a sigh. "So, that was it. How was your day?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Well, it didn't involved Paris chasing me through the hallway so I guess it wasn't as crazy as yours." She paused as Luke set down two cups of coffee in front of them. 

"Here you go," he said.

"Thanks Luke," Lorelai said.

"What can I get you?" he said, poised to write on his pad. 

"I'll have chicken fingers and extra fries," Rory said. 

"Cheeseburger, please. Thanks," Lorelai said. Luke nodded as he scribbled it on his pad and walked away. Lorelai continued, "So, this one guest comes to the front desk complaining that his towels were not folded properly, and that he prefers them to be in perfect squares, right?"

"Right, go on," Rory said.

"Right, so he's arguing with Michel for a few minutes until I finally step in and say that the maid will bring him some new towels, all perfectly folded in squares, and leave them by the sink."

"Good plan," Rory interjected.

Lorelai nodded. "Right, good plan? No," Lorelai shook her head. "The guy doesn't believe us that there will be towels in his room when he gets back - so he insists on having them in his room before he leaves for the day. So Michel had to go find a maid and get her to perfectly fold the towels and place them in the bathroom while the guy stood at the front desk waiting for confirmation from Michel that said towels were in place, after which he went upstairs to check on them." She shook her head and said, "Ugh. He was very odd." 

Rory laughed. "Aw, he just loves towels. You know how some people are about linens."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I need this day to end soon." She folded her arms on the table and rested her head down. 

Rory patted Lorelai's shoulder. "Don't worry, it's almost over. Now get your hair off the table, that's gross."

Lorelai lifted up her head and sighed. "You and your sanitary ways of living." She placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her palms, staring straight ahead. 

A few minutes later, Luke placed their meals in front of them. "Sheesh, you look like you've been up for two days straight," Luke commented as he tore off the check and put it on the table. 

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Thanks, you can never hear that enough." She picked up the check and handed it back to him. "I'm getting pie, add it on."

Luke put it on the table. "Looks like you had a bad day, pie's on the house." He started to walk away.

"Hey, I'm planning on having a bad year, so get baking!" Lorelai called after him.

Both of them starving, they ate their meals quickly. As promised, Luke brought Lorelai her free pie for dessert, while Rory passed in order to go get started her homework. As Lorelai sat by herself at the table, picking at her pie slowly, a voice asked, "What's the matter? Don't like it?" 

Surprised, she looked up and found Luke standing over her. "No, it's great," she said, smiling. "I'm just thinking about some things." 

He sat down at the table across from her. "Oh yeah, what things?"

She put down her fork and examined her nails. "Well, I just took off my lovely shade of red nail polish a few days ago and am now considering either a light blue or a pale pink. I'm not sure which one yet."

Luke raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Interesting. Well, I personally prefer pale pink for my fingernails but light blue looks great on my toes." 

Lorelai laughed. "Thanks for the tip." She took a sip of coffee. "So, what's new with you?"

Luke shrugged. "Nothing. Um, actually, I kind of. . . I kind of wanted to make sure you were okay."

Lorelai looked at him curiously. "Make sure I'm okay? Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"I mean, the other day. . .the guy. . .here at the diner. . ." Luke looked down, suddenly fascinated with the ketchup bottle.

Lorelai suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment as she sunk back in her chair. "Oh yeah, sorry about that. That was. . .uh, he was just. . . we had a little disagreement."

Luke looked up and nodded. "Yeah, I noticed. Um, do you wanna talk about it?" He paused and quickly added, "I mean, I know you have Rory and Sookie and other people to talk about things like this with, but I mean, you know, I'm a good listener." 

Lorelai smiled. "Wow, you're being abnormally sensitive."

Luke smirked. "Hey, I can be sensitive. Just don't ask me to cry."

Lorelai smiled. "I won't." She took a deep breath and said, "I don't know. I just. . .well, basically I told him that I was over him and was ready to move on. And I thought that since he obviously had already moved on, he would think it was good. But it just came out all wrong and he . . .he wasn't exactly as receptive of the information as I thought he would be." Lorelai picked up her fork and stabbed her pie. 

Luke nodded. "Oh. Well, uh. . .it's none of my business, but anyone who would react like that is . . .well, I just think that no matter what the circumstances are, that's not how you should be treated. You deserve better than that." He looked down at the table uncomfortably.

Lorelai glanced at him and smiled. "Thank you."

Luke looked up and gave her a nod. Suddenly, their gazes were locked, their eyes staring directly into each other for one brief moment – a moment that Lorelai could've sworn lasted for an hour. She quickly looked down at her pie as Luke said, "Uh, well, I should get back to work." He stood up and pushed in his chair.

Lorelai nodded. "Right. Thanks for listening, Luke," she smiled up at him gratefully. Luke nodded and walked towards the kitchen. 

When he was out of sight, Lorelai quickly took out some money and left it on the table, then grabbed her coat and ran out the door. She walked quickly to Sookie's house, a feeling of confusion running through her. She pounded loudly on the door until Sookie finally opened it, greeting her with, "What in the – " She saw that it was Lorelai and said, "Honey, what's wrong? You look like you saw a ghost. Come inside." Sookie stepped back, pulling the door open all the way.

Lorelai walked into the house. "I saw it, Sookie!" she exclaimed. 

A scared look appeared on Sookie's face. "A ghost? You saw a real ghost?" She pushed the front door closed and locked it, then took several steps away from the door.

Lorelai shook her head. "No, not a ghost! I - ." She cut herself off and paused. "Hon, locking the door wouldn't keep a ghost out. You know that, right?"

Sookie shrugged. "You never know. So wait, what did you see?"

Lorelai placed her hands on Sookie's shoulders. "It. I saw it. You told me it was right there and I didn't believe you. Luke - I saw it in his eyes, I saw the way he looked at me, there was something there."

Sookie gasped. "Oh my God! I told you so! What are you gonna do about it?"

Lorelai shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know yet. I only saw it like 3 minutes ago, it's still settling in. I mean, it's Luke," she said pointedly.

"Yes, it is," Sookie agreed. "It's definitely Luke."

She stared into space as she said, "And his eyes were so. . . they were like, talking to me or something. I don't know how I feel about this." Lorelai spoke very quickly, "I mean, I don't even know if I feel the same way. I'm still getting used to the 'him liking me' part, I don't know if I'm ready to take the next step and even think about the fact that I might, possibly, somewhere inside of me - like him too. And why, all of a sudden, do I finally see it? After all these months of people telling me it's there and me not seeing, suddenly one day, I finally see it! What's up with that?"

Sookie held up her hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down!" She led Lorelai to the couch and they both sat down. "Okay, listen, what did you tell Christopher? That you're ready to move on, that you're ready to enter into a real relationship. You finally admitted it and allowed yourself to see that something's there with Luke. It's all psychological, Lorelai. But you don't have to rush into anything. Luke's not going anywhere, trust me. Just go home, think about everything, sort out all of your feelings, and decide what you want to do. You have to make this decision by yourself, hon."

Lorelai nodded. "I know, right, I just have to really focus on my feelings."

Sookie nodded. "And you're not exactly good at doing that, so take your time. You're always too busy worrying about Rory and everyone else – now you need to think about your own feelings." 

Lorelai nodded. "Thanks Sookie." She leaned forward and hugged her, and they both stood up and walked towards the door.

"So, you know, take your time with this, okay?" Sookie said. 

Lorelai stepped out onto the porch and smiled. "I will. See you tomorrow." She turned and walked down the front steps.

"Bye." Sookie stood in the doorway smiling after her, glad that Lorelai was finally able to see what everyone else could see.

* * * 

The next day, Lorelai arrived home from work earlier than usual, and she immediately sprawled out on the comfortable couch and stared up at the ceiling. Her head was aching. Throughout the day, she would picture Luke's eyes staring into hers as if they were looking deep inside of her. They were so warm, so full of life; she'd never noticed that about him before. And then she would start thinking about the prospect of them being together and she would get scared and quickly try to think of anything else. She lay there only a few more minutes before the front door opened. 

"Mom?" Rory called. 

"Couch," Lorelai said. 

Rory stopped at the entryway to the living room, her overstuffed backpack on her back and a book clutched against her chest. "Hey." 

Lorelai lifted her head up off the arm of the couch to look at her. "Hey hon. Good day?"

"Yup." Rory walked down the hallway into her room and shut the door, leaving Lorelai sitting on the couch with a bewildered expression.

"Uh, okay, tell me about it later then," Lorelai said to herself. 

A few minutes later Rory walked out, having changed out of her uniform. She gave Lorelai a kiss on the cheek before she sat in the armchair. "So yeah, today was much better than yesterday, and I don't even have that much homework."

Lorelai smiled. "That's great, hon." She suddenly sat up. "Oh my God, I had the best idea today!"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Oh geez, what do you want to invent now?"

Lorelai frowned. "Nothing. It's not an invention, it's a collaboration."

Rory narrowed her eyes. "Collaboration?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay, here it is. You know the bottled water Aquafina?" 

Rory nodded. 

Lorelai continued, "Okay, good. And you know the bottled water Dasani?" 

Rory nodded.

"Okay, well my idea is to make a new bottled water, but call it. . ." Lorelai paused dramatically. ". . . AquaSani." She smiled and sat back against the couch, proud of herself.

Rory stared at her momentarily before she said, "AquaSani?"

"Yeah!" Lorelai replied excitedly. "Say it over and over. AquaSani! AquaSani! Who wouldn't buy a drink called AquaSani? It's the coolest name in the world! We'll make a fortune!" 

"It's a great name Mom, but we don't own a water spring." Rory picked up a magazine off the coffee table and leafed through it.

Lorelai held up her pointer finger and wagged it towards Rory. "That's the beauty of it, my dear. We'll buy some empty bottles, fill it with good old tap water, paste an AquaSani label on it -- that you make on the computer -- then we'll sell them to Taylor to sell at the market. Pure genius."

Rory closed the magazine and stared at her mom. "You have obviously put a lot of thought into this."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yes I have." 

"Why?" Rory asked her.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows and folded her arms across her chest. "Why? What do you mean, why?"

Rory shrugged. "You only think up random things like this when you're trying to avoid thinking about other things. So, what's up?"

Lorelai sunk back down against the couch. She glanced down at her fingernails and started examining them. "I have no idea what you're talking about." 

Rory smirked. "Ah, I hit the nail right on the head. What is it?"

Lorelai sighed and brought her gaze back up to meet Rory's. "Nothing, I don't wanna talk about it yet, okay?"

"Ah, so there is something. Is it about Dad?" Rory asked.

Lorelai sighed. "Rory, what part of 'I don't want to talk about it' did you not hear?"

"So it is about Dad," Rory said knowingly. 

Lorelai shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, obviously the word 'don't'." 

"Sorry," Rory said. "I just like to know what's going on with you. So, you know, if you do want to talk, I'm always here." 

Lorelai smiled. "I know, I appreciate that. And when I'm ready to talk about it, I'll come seek you out."

Rory stood up. "Okay. Well, I'll be in my room."

"Mmkay," Lorelai said. As Rory walked out of the room, Lorelai lay back against the couch and closed her eyes. 

* * * 

As Lorelai slowly opened her eyes an hour later, with a blanket now covering her, she realized that even a nap couldn't make the confusion disappear from her mind. As soon as she woke up, the thoughts came rolling back through her head. Her conversations with Luke and Sookie played over and over in her head, and yet she still couldn't bring herself to actually think about her own feelings. The one question that she had to answer - but couldn't - kept plaguing her.

"Do I want it to happen?" Lorelai asked aloud. She stared up at the ceiling as if it would give her a response. When it didn't answer her back, she sighed loudly. "You're no help at all," Lorelai said, shooting it a dirty look. She sat up on the couch. "Rory!" she called. "Are you here?"

A few seconds later, Rory walked out of her bedroom and into the living room. "Yeah. You feeling okay?" Rory asked, a concerned look on her face.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, I guess."

Rory nodded. "Okay. Uh, you hungry? You wanna go to Luke's?"

A paleness washed over Lorelai's face at the sound of his name. She suddenly felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She couldn't be around him right now, not until she knew what she wanted. "Uh, well, you know, uh," she stammered. "Why don't you order pizza instead?" Lorelai forced a smile and nodded towards the kitchen. 

Rory narrowed her eyes at Lorelai's obvious discomfort but said nothing about it. She nodded and walked into the kitchen to make the call. Lorelai stayed on the couch, pulling the blanket tightly around her as she tried to clear her mind of everything. "Okay, let's concentrate on this," she mumbled aloud. "Just think – do you *want* something to happen with Luke?" 

* * * 

PART 2

* * *

The next morning, Lorelai and Rory sat at the breakfast table with coffee and Pop Tarts while they read the newspaper. Lorelai casually glanced over her paper at the clock. "Ooh, you better get going," she said. 

Rory nodded and stood up, taking a final sip of her coffee before she said, "Bye Mom." She picked up her bookbag and walked down the hall.

"Bye hon," Lorelai said. "Have a good day."

"You too," she called from the front hallway. Lorelai heard the front door slam, and she waited a moment to make sure Rory was gone. She gathered up the sections of newspaper and placed them on a chair, then pushed everything else to the other side of the table.

She grabbed a pen and notepad from the counter, then tore off two sheets of paper and placed them in front of her on the table. She sat down and wrote PROS on one paper and CONS on the other. 

Lorelai sighed. "Okay, let's start with the cons." She bit down on the back of the pen cap and thought for a moment, then started to write. "A, he's very monosyllabic. B, if we break up, no more Luke's Diner. C, he's . . . he's. . . " Lorelai stared at the paper for a few minutes before she gave up and pushed it away. 

She pulled the other paper toward her and started writing quickly as she listed her reasons aloud. "Okay, the pros. A, he likes me. B, he looks out for Rory. C, he makes the best coffee. D, he's cute. E, he's sweet. F, he's very handy. G, he makes me laugh. H, he made me a chuppa. . ." Even though the list already told her what she should do, she continued on. 

Lorelai finally stopped when she reached Z, even though she could have easily kept going all day. She put the pen down and looked back and forth between the two lists. She picked up the con list, crumpled it into a ball and dropped it on the table. 

She picked up the pro list and smiled as she read through it. She sighed and said, "You're so stupid Lorelai. It's all right here staring you in the face." She glanced at the clock and realizing she was already late for work, hurried toward the inn.

* * * 

Carrying her pro list, Lorelai walked into the inn and went directly to the kitchen. She pushed open the door and called out, "Sookie!"

Sookie, who had just started to pour sugar into a mixing bowl, was startled and dropped the bag into the bowl. "Agh! Shoot!" Sookie exclaimed. As she took the bag out and placed it on the counter, Lorelai ran over to her. 

"Oops, sorry about that," Lorelai said, smiling.

Sookie looked at her and giggled. "Yeah, you look sorry. What's that smile for?"

"I figured it out. Look!" Lorelai handed her the pro sheet.

Sookie read through it. "Pros. He likes me, he looks out for Rory, he makes the best coffee. . ." Sookie laughed. "What is this?"

Lorelai took the paper back and smiled. "I made a pro/con list about Luke to sort out all my feelings and stuff, and the pro list totally kicked the con sheet's butt."

Sookie gasped and grabbed the paper back. "Oh my God, this is so long. You really put a lot of thought into this."

Lorelai nodded. "I thought about it all night, and then this morning I listed them all out. Oh, and last night during my "sorting out my feelings" session, I figured something very important out. Look at J," she said, pointing to the list.

Sookie scanned the list. "Ah, here we go. J, I don't want to hide my feelings anymore." Sookie looked up at Lorelai. "What does that mean?"

Lorelai smiled and took the paper back. "It means that. . . all this time that people have been pointing out that Luke likes me, I've realized that I've liked him, too. And I just kept pushing those feelings away because I didn't want to deal with them, but now I'm at a point where I *want* to deal with them. I want to see where this can go."

Sookie's eyes widened as she smiled. "Aww! So you're gonna go for it?"

Lorelai nodded excitedly. "Yeah, I think I'm gonna go for it."

Sookie clasped her hands together. "Oh my God, oh my God, this is so exciting! I'm so excited! Aren't you so excited?" Sookie giggled and hugged Lorelai.

Lorelai laughed. "Yes I am. And a little nervous too. I mean, it's Luke. Sookie, it's Luuuuke," Lorelai said seriously, her eyes widening.

"I know, I know!" Sookie laughed. "So, you're gonna ask him out?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I haven't figured that out yet. Maybe I'll casually hint around that I'd like to do something and see if he picks it up."

Sookie smiled. "God, this is so great."

Lorelai smiled and nodded "I know. Okay, I gotta get out to the desk. I'll be back later, we can gush some more over this." Lorelai waved the pro list towards Sookie excitedly and walked towards the lobby.

* * * 

Later that evening, Lorelai called out, "Rory, I'm home!" as she walked through the front door. "Rory?" Lorelai walked into the kitchen and found a note on the table. She read it and smiled to herself. "Hm, so you went to Luke's, did ya? Sounds good to me." Lorelai walked back out of the house and headed towards the diner. 

A few minutes later, Lorelai walked into Luke's and glanced around for Rory, not seeing her in the crowded diner. She spotted Luke behind the counter and smiled to herself, thinking she might as well try and get some flirting in. She suddenly felt a wave of nervousness but she pushed it aside as she made and held eye contact with Luke while walking toward him. "Hey Luke," she said, leaning on the counter.

"Hey," he smiled. 

"Um, how's everything going?" Lorelai asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Pretty good. You looking for Rory?" he asked as he wiped the counter.

"Yeah, have you see her?" Lorelai asked. "She said she was coming here."

Luke nodded. "Yeah, she was here, but then she and Jess went somewhere."

Lorelai winced. "Oh." 

Luke frowned. "What was that?"

Lorelai shrugged. "What was what?" 

"What was that look?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes. "You don't like Jess?"

Lorelai gasped. "I did not say that."

Luke shook his head. "You don't have to say it, I saw the look."

Lorelai sighed and shifted her feet. "Luke, I'm sorry, I know he's family and all but. . ."

"But you think he's trouble," Luke finished for her.

Lorelai didn't respond. She looked uncomfortably down at the counter.

Luke sighed. "You do – you think he's trouble just like everyone else in this town," Luke said angrily as he threw down his rag. "I get enough of this crap from Taylor, I don't need it from you too." Luke turned around and started walking away.

Lorelai gasped. "Luke, wait! I didn't. . ." her voice trailed off as she watched him disappear into the kitchen. She let out a deep sigh and shook her head disappointingly. "That was so not how that was supposed to turn out," she said quietly. She slowly walked towards the door and headed home.

* * *

Lorelai arrived home in a funk, thinking that maybe the fact that she'd had a fight with Luke on the same day she'd decided to ask him out was some sort of sign. She sulked her way into the house, calling out "Rory!" She assumed that the silence she was greeted with meant that Rory wasn't home yet and she walked upstairs. 

She took a long hot bath and slipped into her robe, then wandered downstairs with the intention of raiding the kitchen for anything that could be called a meal. As she reached the bottom of the steps, however, she was beyond surprised to see Luke sitting on her couch.

"Luke!" she exclaimed. Her heart started racing as she pulled the belt on her robe tighter. "What. . . uh, how did you . . .?" she gestured towards him.

He stood up and pointed towards the kitchen. "Uh, Rory let me in." 

Lorelai took a few steps towards the hall and glanced towards the kitchen. Rory sat at the table reading. "Hey," Lorelai called. "When did you get home?" 

Rory looked up from her book. "Oh, like 15 minutes ago." 

Lorelai glanced back at Luke. "And you've been here for?"

Luke shrugged. "Just a few minutes." He looked down at the floor uncomfortably. "Uh, listen, I wanted to apologize. . . ya know, for how I acted earlier."

Lorelai waved him off. "You don't have to, it was my fault."

Luke shook his head and held up his hands. "No, you have a right to your opinion. All you did was make a face and I went berserk on you. I'm sorry."

Lorelai sighed. "I'm sorry, too. You know, for making the face to begin with." Lorelai walked toward the armchair near the fireplace. She sat down, and in a quiet voice, she said, "Luke, it's just that Jess reminds me of Christopher at that age. And Rory is so naïve, and I don't want her to . . ." She paused and stared down at the floor. "I don't want Rory to turn out like me. I want her to graduate high school and go to Harvard and do everything she wants to do. I don't want her to screw up like I did. And when I see something happening that may get in the way of her goals, I kinda get defensive. I just. . .I don't want her to be like me."

Luke walked towards her and sat on the coffee table in front of her. Speaking softly, he said, "Lorelai, Jess isn't as bad as you think he is. I mean, I'll admit he has some problems, but he's smart underneath that. And Rory's smart, so if you're worrying about her screwing up because of Jess, then you shouldn't. Trust her."

Lorelai sighed. "I just don't want her to get into trouble."

"And you think Jess will get her in trouble," Luke deduced.

"No, I just. . . I don't know. I do trust her," she said.

"But you don't trust Jess," he finished. "Listen, if you trust Rory, then everything will be fine. I trust Rory too - which is why I know she won't do anything stupid."

Lorelai sighed. "I know, I'm paranoid."

Luke nodded. "Yes, you are." He stood up and started to walk away, but he suddenly stopped and turned back. "And hey?"

Lorelai looked up at him. "Yeah?"

He stared into her eyes. "She'd be pretty damn lucky if she turns out like you."

A smile slowly appeared on her lips and she looked sheepishly down at the floor.

"See you later," Luke said. He walked out of the living room and out the front door. Lorelai brought her head up and stared into space, smiling to herself. 

* * *

The next evening, Lorelai and Rory stood outside the entrance to Emily and Richard's house. They glanced at each other before Lorelai reluctantly rang the bell. 

Emily pulled the door open and, seeing that Rory was with Lorelai this time, smiled. "Ah, yes, both my girls this time. Come in." 

"Hey Grandma, sorry I couldn't make it last week," Rory said as she removed her coat and hung it up.

"Yes, well, I'm happy to see you're back this week," Emily said. "Now, come, tell me all about that woman." She led Rory to the living room.

Lorelai rolled her eyes as she hung up her coat and followed them. "Mom, Rory only spends one evening a week with you, I'm sure she doesn't want to spend it talking about Sherry. Right, hon?"

Rory shrugged, not knowing what to say. Lorelai and Rory sat next to each other on the couch as Emily sat across from them. "Yes, well, I was just curious as to what kind of person she is. Is she nice?" Emily pursed her lips.

Rory nodded. "Yes, very nice." She glanced at Lorelai uncomfortably.

Emily nodded. "Mm hmm. Well, is she responsible? She wasn't drinking while she was with you, was she?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Mom, I only let Rory go out with drunks on Saturdays, you know that. New topic, please."

Emily shrugged. "Fine. Lorelai, how's everything at the inn?"

Lorelai nodded. "Fine, fine. Oh, did we tell you, Sookie's engaged."

Emily smiled. "Oh, that's wonderful! She's very talented. What does her fiancé do?"

"Oh, he's the produce guy," Lorelai said. She suddenly tapped Rory on the shoulder and raised one eyebrow. She whispered, "Ooh, listen for a rant."

Emily didn't disappoint them. She made a face. "A produce guy? That's his official job title, the produce guy? What kind of career is that? That's the kind of job you get in high school. He's the guy who sprays the fruit at a supermarket?" She shook her head disappointingly. 

Lorelai looked at Rory and smiled. "Did I call it or did I call it?"

Rory smiled. "Yes, you called it." She turned to Emily. "Jackson grows his own fruit, Grandma, and then he sells it. And he's really sweet and they're really happy together."

Lorelai smiled. "Yes, they are."

Richard suddenly walked down the steps into the living room. "Well, it's all set up, Emily," he announced.

Emily stood up. "You're kidding! Oh, I can't wait!" she exclaimed.

"What? What's going on? Hey Grandpa," Rory added.

"Hello Rory, Lorelai," Richard said as he walked towards Emily. They sat down on the couch. "Well, looks like dinner will be off for a few weeks. We're off on a little trip," he said proudly.

Lorelai's ears perked up. "Dinner, off?" she asked excitedly.

Rory smacked her arm. "Uh, where are you guys going?"

Emily smiled. "Well, we're going to be visiting some friends. First, North Carolina for a few days, then down to Florida."

"Wow!" Rory said. "That should be fun."

Emily smiled and nodded. "Now we know you have school, but this summer we'll go back down there and you girls can come with us."

Rory smiled. "That would be great, thank you!" She looked at Lorelai. "That'll be fun, right Mom?"

Lorelai forced a smile. "Loads. When are you guys leaving?"

"Oh, next Thursday, and we'll return the following Saturday," Richard said as he stood up. "Well, what do you say we move into the dining room?"

"Yes, let's," Emily said. "Dinner smells ready."

Emily and Richard walked into the dining room talking about their trip. Lorelai and Rory hung back in the living room for a moment. "Ah, can you believe this? We're out of two Friday night dinners!" Lorelai said quietly. 

Rory laughed. "Yeah, way to hide your excitement about it."

Lorelai shrugged. "Hey, we'll finally be able to have fun on a Friday. We need to think of something wild and crazy to do."

Rory nodded. "I'll put my thinking cap on."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Hon, your thinking cap has been permanently bonded to your scalp since you were born."

Rory smiled. "Yeah, well there's another one that I put on top of it when the need calls for it."

Lorelai nodded knowingly. "Ah, got it. Let's go eat," she said, grabbing Rory's hand and dragging her to the dining room.

* * *

Lorelai awoke the next morning with a smile on her face. Not because she was a morning person, but because of the dream she'd had about Luke. She'd dreamt that she had casually walked up to him in the diner and asked him out and he had accepted – it was all so simple. She had felt so calm and confident in her dream, she wasn't nervous or uncomfortable. If only it was that easy in real life. 

Lorelai sighed up at the ceiling. "Okay, deep breath. Today's the day. You'll just go up to him and casually ask him out, and if he says yes, great, if he says no. . ." Lorelai suddenly sat up straight. "Oh my God, what if he says no?"

Lorelai jumped off the bed, picked up the phone off her bureau, and quickly dialed Sookie's number. 

When someone picked up she shouted, "What if he says no?" Lorelai grimaced and paused. "Oh, hi Jackson. Sorry. Is Sookie there?"

A moment later, Sookie's voice greeted her. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"Sookie, what if I ask Luke out and he says no?" Lorelai asked worriedly.

Sookie giggled and said, "Aw, you're so nervous. That's so cute!"

Lorelai scoffed. "No, it's not cute. It's scary. What if he says no? I'll be so embarrassed! I'll never be able to go into the diner again!"

Sookie laughed. "I promise you one hundred percent that he will not say no. He won't. I know he won't."

"Okay, so you're Miss Cleo now." 

Sookie sighed. "Do you want me to pass him a note after gym? I can do that if you want."

"What are you saying?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm saying that you're acting like a child. You're a grown-up, you need to take risks, you need to act for yourself on what you think is right. If you want to go out with him, just ask him," Sookie said sternly. "Ask him."

Lorelai sighed. "How come you're always right, Sookie?"

"I'm very wise," she replied. "Good luck."

"Luck? Oh God, you think I need luck?" Lorelai asked frantically.

"Bye," Sookie said. 

"Bye." Lorelai hung up and sighed loudly. She stared at her closet with her hands on her waist. "You need a killer outfit, something that he won't be able to say no to. Now, it can't be too dressy because then you'll look too fancy and stupid. But it can't be too casual because then you'll look . . .uh, too casual. Hm, what's another word for too casual?" she asked herself. After a moment of thinking, she shrugged. 

She glanced around the room, her eyes landing on a pair of blue jeans draped across a chair. "Hmm, that pair's really tight. That'll work." She walked over and picked it up, then brought it back to the closet with her to find a shirt. After holding up several of them in front of the mirror, she finally decided on a form-fitting light blue sweater with a deep v-neck. She lay out the outfit on the bed, then went to take a shower. 

As she walked downstairs forty-five minutes later, dressed and ready to make her move, she found Rory sitting on the couch reading. "Hey, what's up?" she asked.

Rory shrugged. "Not much. Reading for school."

"Cool," Lorelai said. "So I guess you have a lot of homework, huh?" 

Rory looked up at her. "No, not too much, actually."

"Oh, cool," Lorelai replied. Rory went back to her book as Lorelai stood on the steps staring at her. She knew if she told Rory she was going to Luke's that Rory would want to go with her – and Lorelai didn't want that. "Well, uh, I'm gonna run to the, uh, inn to check on something, and I'll be back in a little bit."

"Okay," Rory said, not looking up from her reading. 

Lorelai grabbed her coat and walked toward the door. She walked to the diner quickly, not giving herself any time to stop and think about what she was about to do. She walked into the diner and took a seat at the counter, scanning the room for Luke. She ordered coffee from Caesar, casually asking, "Caesar, have you seen Luke?"

"Said he had to run some errands," he said, setting her coffee in front of her.

"Hmm," Lorelai said with a small pout. She contemplated going home but instead decided to wait a bit, thinking she might not get up the courage to get this far again. Lorelai sat at the counter for almost thirty minutes nursing three different cups of coffee. She looked excitedly at the door every time she heard it open expecting Luke to walk through, her heart falling every time it wasn't him. She finally gave up – she paid for her coffee and with a disappointed sigh, left the diner. 

She walked outside just as Luke pulled up in his truck, and a relieved smile fell upon her lips. She walked over to the truck and asked, "Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for like four hours." 

He laughed. "I've only been gone for like forty-five minutes."

"Yeah, well, it seemed like four hours," she said, taking a step back.

He stepped out of the truck and slammed the door. "So why were you waiting for me?" He started walking towards the diner, thinking she'd follow him. When she didn't, he turned around and walked back over to her. "Something wrong?"

Lorelai, feeling a pit in her stomach, swallowed hard. She cleared her throat and said, "Well, uh, Luke. . . see, I was kinda thinking about how, you know, you're single and I'm single, and so that means that we're both single." She paused and stared at Luke's confused face. She continued, "And so I was thinking that it might be kinda cool or something if one day we sort of got together and maybe hung out or something. Together." She quickly added, "You know, a casual hanging out kinda thing, with you and me." She stepped back and raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to respond.

Luke's eyes slowly widened as he processed Lorelai's words. He swallowed a few times before he said, "Wait. . . . did you. . . did you just ask me out?"

Lorelai scoffed. "No!" She paused and looked down at the sidewalk, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Well, kinda, yeah." She brought her eyes up slowly to meet Luke's. "So, what do you say? You wanna hang out or something?"

Luke slowly smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I mean, if you want to, then yeah, that'd be good."

Lorelai smiled. "Good. Uh, what do you say, my place, tonight, like six-ish? Or is that too soon?"

Luke shook his head. "No, it's definitely not too soon."

Lorelai smiled. "Good. Uh, I'll see you later then." 

Luke smiled and nodded goodbye to her as she walked past him towards her house. 

* * * 

Lorelai rushed inside calling out, "Rory, Rory, are you home?" Lorelai took off her coat and dropped it on the floor. "Rory!" 

Rory ran out of her bedroom toward the front door. "Mom, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

Lorelai placed her hands on Rory's shoulders. "Honey, I hate to ask you this, but I kinda need you to not be here tonight. Can you make plans to be out? I'm so sorry, but – "

"Yeah, sure, how come?" Rory interrupted. 

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Um, I invited Luke to come over."

Rory narrowed her eyes and shrugged. "So, it's just Lu -." Rory cut herself off and her eyes widened. "Wait, you mean, like a date? You invited Luke over for a date?" Rory gasped. "Oh my God!"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, it's not a date! It's a pre-dating casual hanging out session – you know, like the one you and Dean had when we watched Willy Wonka."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well maybe I should invite Grandma over so you know how it feels to have your mother there."

Lorelai gasped. "Hey, I've apologized for that like a hundred times."

Rory smiled. "I know, I forgive you." She paused for a moment. "So, when did this happen? You and Luke?"

Lorelai shrugged. "What do you think? Crazy idea?"

Rory shrugged. "Well, he's liked you for a really long time. And not just a regular like, but I mean a 'head-over-heels, madly-in-love-with-you' kinda like," she said with a laugh. "So it's really a question of whether you like him."

"Of course I like him," Lorelai said, suddenly feeling a large knot forming in her stomach.

Rory smiled. "So then hopefully it'll all work out."

"Yeah, hopefully," she said, forcing a smile. As Rory headed back into her bedroom, Lorelai walked into the living room and sat on the couch. 

"Oh God, what am I getting myself into?" she asked aloud. Thoughts ran through her head, wondering if she was ready for this – wondering if she would be able to live up to the image that Luke had of her. She suddenly jumped up and walked to phone. She dialed Sookie's number and groaned when she got her machine. She glanced at the clock, and realizing that Sookie was probably at the inn, she yelled, "Rory, I'm running an errand!"

"Okay," Rory called back.

Lorelai grabbed her coat and car keys, but instead of going to the inn, drove to the diner and walked inside quickly. She didn't see Luke so she walked up to Jess at the counter and said, "Jess, do you know where Luke is?" Jess pointed towards the kitchen. 

"Thanks," Lorelai muttered as she walked past the counter and through the doorway into the kitchen. She glanced around, finally spotting Luke at the grill with Caesar. "Luke!" she called.

Surprised, Luke turned around to see who had called him, immediately smiling when he saw Lorelai. He gave his spatula to Caesar and walked towards her. "Hey," he said, wiping his hands on a towel.

Lorelai said quickly, "Hi. Luke, um, I can't. . . we can't hang out tonight. Uh, I forgot me and Rory had plans." She gave him an apologetic look.

Luke's face seemed to stiffen up and he swallowed hard. "Oh." He glanced around uncomfortably. "Okay, well, no big deal. Some other time."

Lorelai nodded. "I have to go." She turned around and walked out quickly, unaware of the look of disappointment that had suddenly washed over Luke's face.

* * *

PART 3

* * *

Sookie was rolling out some pastry dough in the kitchen of the inn and was more than surprised when Lorelai, minutes after canceling her date with Luke, frantically ran through the back door.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Sookie asked. "You look horrible!"

Lorelai sighed. "Thanks." She propped herself on the counter near Sookie and covered her face with her hands. "I'm so screwed up right now, please help me," she mumbled.

"Hold on a sec," Sookie said. She put her rolling pin down and washed her hands, then stood in front of Lorelai. "Okay, go."

Lorelai looked up and took a deep breath. "Okay, I made a date with Luke for tonight. Just a casual hanging out thing at my house."

Sookie gasped. "You did?" She giggled. "Oh my God, this is so exciting! Oh, I always - "

"But then I broke the date, Sookie," Lorelai interrupted.

Sookie's mouth dropped open. "What? Why?"

Lorelai shook her head. "I just didn't want to go through with it."

"You didn't want to?" Sookie asked, confused. "But you had that whole list and -" She paused and stared at Lorelai for a moment. "You're scared, Lorelai," she said.

Lorelai turned her head and said, "No, I'm not."

Sookie snickered. "Fine, you're not. So what is it then?"

Lorelai brought her gaze back to Sookie and sighed. "Fine, I'm scared. I'm scared, Sookie."

"Scared of what?" Sookie asked softly. 

Lorelai bit her lip nervously. "Of everything. Of it not working out, of ruining our friendship, of completely shattering his expectation that I'm this great catch. Rory said he's madly in love with me. But why, Sookie? Why? I'm not the fabulous perfect woman that he thinks I am. I don't want him to be disappointed." She looked down at her shoes. "I've hurt a lot of guys, Sookie. I don't want to add Luke to the list."

Sookie frowned. "Aww, don't do this to yourself. Listen, Luke has known you for a really long time - long enough to realize that you're not perfect. He wouldn't be carrying this torch for you if he thought you would disappoint him. He still likes you despite all of your faults."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm feeling so much better already, Sookie." 

Sookie grimaced. "Sorry, I'm not getting this out clearly. Let me try again." She paused a moment. "Okay, we already know that he likes you and you like him, right?"

"Right," Lorelai nodded.

"Okay, so that's the basis you start with, you guys like each other. So, if you honestly feel in your heart that there's no chance it'll work out with him, then don't do it. Just forget about everything. But if there's even a little glint of hope that this could be something special, then you need to go for it." Sookie smiled. "Just go out with him once, just do that whole casual hanging out thing. If you don't feel anything, then it ends there and things won't be too weird, I promise. But you never know until you try. And I think you owe it to yourself to try."

Lorelai stared at her, nodding along as she digested her words. 

"Can I say one more thing?" Sookie asked. "He's probably just as freaked as you are."

Lorelai stared down at the floor silently for almost a minute before she finally let out a long sigh. She got down off the counter and hugged Sookie tightly. "Thank you Sookie."

"You're welcome," Sookie said. "You know what you're gonna do yet?"

Lorelai nodded and smiled. "I have to go back to the diner," she said, walking towards the door.

A smile slowly appeared on Sookie's face. "Aw, good luck."

"Thanks," Lorelai called from the doorway.

* * * 

Lorelai walked into the diner for the third time that day, glancing around for Luke. She saw him standing at the counter with his back to her. She walked up to him, reached across the counter and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey."

He turned around. "Oh, hey. Back again?"

"Yup." She sat down on a stool and leaned on the counter. "Luke, are you still free tonight?" 

He looked at her curiously. "Yeah, why?" 

"Okay, listen and don't hate me," Lorelai said. She took a deep breath. "I lied before. Me and Rory don't have anything to do tonight." 

Luke gave her a confused look. "What?"

She nodded. "Luke, I just got scared of. . .everything. I just had this feeling that if we went out, it would lead to all chaos and inevitably end up with me having to take Rory and move to Nova Scotia."

Luke let out a small laugh. "Why would that happen?"

She shrugged. "Are you asking me to interpret the thoughts floating around my crazy head?" 

He smiled. "My mistake." He adjusted his cap and asked, "So, what exactly are you saying?"

She sat up straight and said quietly, "I'm saying that I've thought about it, and I think that there's definitely some sort of little spark here that could . . . potentially develop into fire, but if we don't take that first step we'll never know. I think we should take that first step." She paused and added, "I mean, if you still want to." She looked at him hopefully.

Luke nodded. "I do. So, tonight then?"

Lorelai nodded. "Totally casual, you, me, hanging out, pizza, movie, no strings. And we'll just see where it goes from there."

Luke smiled. "Sounds good. So, uh, six-ish?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Six-ish. I'll see you later, Luke." She hopped off the stool and walked towards the door. Luke smiled to himself as he watched her walk away, nodding approvingly of Lorelai's choice to wear the tight jeans.

* * * 

That night as Lorelai sat on the couch ordering the pizza, she saw Rory in the hallway putting on her coat. She hung up and walked to the front door, handing her some money. "Okay, so ten o'clock."

"Ten o'clock, got it," Rory said. She gave Lorelai a hug. "Have fun, Mom."

"Thanks," Lorelai said. "And sorry for kicking you out, kid."

"That's okay," Rory smiled and pulled the door open. "It's going on the list." 

Lorelai smiled. She watched Rory walk down the front steps, then shut the door and checked her watch. Almost six. She wandered around the house making sure it looked presentable. It wasn't long before the pizza arrived, and a few minutes later, the phone rang. "Hello?" she answered.

"Hey," Luke said. 

"Luke, hey," Lorelai said. She swallowed hard and immediately thought that he was calling to cancel. "Uh, what's up?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were still okay with everything. You know, with us hanging out. Haven't changed your mind?"

Lorelai smiled into the phone. "Nope, come on over. Rory went out and pizza just got here, and if you don't arrive soon I'll probably eat it all myself."

Luke laughed. "Okay, I'll be over soon." 

"Okay," Lorelai said. She hung up the phone and smiled to herself. She brought some plates and napkins from the kitchen out to the coffee table, setting them next to the pizza. She sat on the couch and waited for what was only a few minutes, but felt like hours. 

When the doorbell finally rang, she walked slowly to the door, checking her hair as she walked past the mirror. Her hand on the doorknob, she took a deep breath before she pulled it open.

Luke stood on the porch with his hands shoved into his jeans pockets. "Hey," he said, giving her a nervous smile.

Lorelai smiled and stepped back from the door. "Hi, come on in." 

"Thanks." Luke walked inside and shut the door behind him. "It's getting cold out there."

"Oh yeah, the weather's been so wacky lately. Cold, hot, cold, hot - it's like, make up your mind Al Roker," Lorelai said.

Luke smiled. "You know, Al doesn't really control the weather."

Lorelai pretended to be shocked. "He doesn't?" She smiled and asked, "Uh, can I take your coat?" Luke slipped it off and she hung it up. He followed her as she walked into the living room. "Okay, I rented Jurassic Park 3, and I didn't want you to be totally lost, so just in case you haven't seen them, I also got one and two." She picked up the DVDs and fanned them out like a deck of cards. "Pick a movie, any movie."

He pointed to the middle one. "Let's go with number two. I've only seen the first one."

She put the others down and said, "Okay, number two it is." She walked over to the television and put the movie on. She walked back to him and gestured to the pizza. "Okay, help yourself. Oh, can I get you a drink? Water, beer, sour milk?"

He smiled. "Beer's fine. I'll get it, you want one too?" he asked, walking toward the kitchen.

"Yes, please," she said. She sat down on the couch and took out a slice of pizza. Luke returned with two beers and set them on the table. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said. He sat down on the cushion next to her and looked at the pizza. He smiled. "You got half with vegetables."

She smiled. "And low fat cheese," she added, taking a bite of her slice.

"I'm impressed. Thanks." He smiled and took a slice as the movie started.

* * * 

Twenty-five minutes later, as Luke saw no immediate end to Lorelai's random movie commentary, he finally smiled at her and said, "Are you gonna do that the entire time?"

Lorelai, who was in the midst of a comment, immediately closed her mouth. She shook her head. "Um, no." 

"Is this one of those annoying quirks that people have to learn to live with?" Luke asked. 

She smiled and nodded. "I'll be good, I promise." She pretended to lock her lips and throw away the key. 

"Got any more annoying quirks I should know about?" he asked her. 

She smiled and shrugged. "Just one or two. . . hundred. But they're all cute." 

He smiled and nodded. "I'm sure they are," he said, turning his head back to the movie. 

They watched it for almost thirty more minutes before Lorelai randomly picked up the remote and stopped the movie. Luke looked at her questioningly. 

She turned her body so she was facing him, tucked her feet underneath her legs, and rested her elbows on her knees. "Let's talk," she said.

He brought one of his legs up under him and turned his body to face her. "About what?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, anything." She paused and they stared at each other for a moment before she said, "Is this weird?"

Luke let out the breath he'd been holding. "Yeah, a little."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I mean, first dates are usually the 'get to know each other' date, but we already know each other."

"Yeah, but we don't know everything. There's plenty that we don't know," Luke pointed out.

"Okay, let's learn more then. Ask me something," Lorelai said.

Luke shrugged. "Um, what's your favorite color?"

"It's gotta be blue," she replied, gesturing to her sweater. "Lots of blue-loving going on here."

"Me too, mostly navy blue," he said. "Okay, favorite - "

"Hey, my turn," she interrupted him. "Favorite movie?"

"Godfather," he replied quickly. 

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Godfather, really? Hmm."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "What?"

She shrugged. "Nothing. I just never took you for a Godfather kind of guy."

"What kind of guy did you take me for?" he asked curiously.

Lorelai smirked. "I don't know, Sleepless in Seattle?" 

Luke laughed. "Oh, come on. You're kidding, right?"

Lorelai laughed. "Yes, I'm kidding. Godfather's good, I love Godfather. Your turn."

"Okay." He thought for a moment. "Favorite thing to do to relax?"

"Hmm, bubble bath. Favorite holiday?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Whichever one has the least amount of decorations."

Lorelai laughed. "Hm, I think that would be Arbor Day."

"Arbor Day it is, then," Luke said. 

They continued on for a few more minutes, sticking with tame subjects such as music and food, until a more interesting question popped into Luke's head on one of his turns. He paused briefly and took a sip of his beer, contemplating whether or not to say it. Finally, a smile slowly formed on his lips. "Favorite piece of lingerie?" 

Lorelai raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Ah, getting more personal now, are we?" She felt a chill run through her body as she stared at the slight smirk on his face. 

Luke shrugged. "You don't have to answer it if -."

"No no, I'll answer it," Lorelai cut him off. She leaned forward slightly and said, "Light pink satin teddy. Boxers or briefs?"

Luke smiled. "Boxers."

"I knew it!" Lorelai said, pointing at him.

Luke narrowed his eyes at her and smiled. "Oh, so you've been thinking about my boxers?"

Lorelai felt her face get flushed and she stammered, "No, um, I just - no. No."

Luke smiled. "Ah, Lorelai Gilmore is embarrassed."

She laughed. "I am not," she said, playfully hitting him on the chest. Luke caught her elbow and impulsively pulled her body against his. He fell back against the arm of the couch and she lay on top of him, their lips hovering just inches apart. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment. 

"Is this weird?" Lorelai whispered, her heart racing excitedly.

A surge ran through Luke's body as he felt her warm breath against his lips. "Mm hmm," he replied, pressing his lips against hers. Lorelai kissed him back softly. They pulled apart and Lorelai pushed herself off of Luke so that he could sit up. They stared at each other for a moment, each waiting for the other to speak first.

Finally, Luke said, "That was. . ."

"Nice," Lorelai finished. "That was nice."

Luke nodded. He gently placed a hand on either side of her face, leading her lips towards his once again. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back. A few seconds into the kiss, Lorelai gently used her tongue to separate Luke's lips. He opened his mouth wide, and a shiver ran through Lorelai's body as their tongues met for the first time. A soft moan escaped Lorelai's throat as they continued kissing, their tongues smoothly gliding over each other in a sensual rhythm. 

They finally broke apart, and as they both panted to catch their breaths, they smiled shyly at each other. Luke leaned back against the couch and cleared his throat. "Wow, uh. . . maybe we should finish that movie now, what do you think?"

Lorelai nodded quickly. "Absolutely, let's finish it." She pushed play on the remote and leaned back against the couch. She didn't watch the movie, however, as she was too busy thinking about the sensation that had shot through her body while they kissed, and the exciting chill she was still feeling just thinking about it. 

* * * 

As the movie ended, Lorelai turned to Luke, "So, what'd you think?"

"Pretty good, not as good as the first one though," Luke said. 

"Oh, no contest, the first one rocked." She glanced at the clock. "Aw, we don't have time to watch the third one. Rory'll be home soon."

Luke shrugged. "Next time."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Next time." She stood up and stretched out her legs before she picked up their beer bottles and started walking toward the kitchen.

"Oh, let me help you," Luke said, following her with the almost-empty pizza box. 

They placed everything on the counter, and Luke glanced around and said, "So, I guess I should get going."

Lorelai smiled. "I had a good time."

"Me too," he replied. They walked to the front door, and she watched as he pulled his coat on and took out his car keys. "So. . ." he said.

"So. . ." she repeated, shifting her feet.

They stared at each other for a second before they leaned towards each other uncomfortably. Lorelai suddenly let out a small laugh and Luke pulled back. "What?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, it's just . . .we're about to kiss goodnight. Me and you," Lorelai said.

Luke smiled. "I know. Weird, huh?"

Lorelai nodded. "But nice." She took a step towards him and kissed him deeply, pressing him against the front door while a mutual feeling of electricity pulsed through their bodies. 

They broke apart and Lorelai stepped back so that he could open the door. He stepped out onto the porch and turned around. "Night," he said, smiling.

"Bye Luke," she said, giving him a little wave. She watched him walk down the front steps and get into his truck before she finally shut the door. She wandered over to the couch smiling, a mixed feeling of excitement and relief filling her. She picked up a magazine and leafed through it aimlessly, too busy thinking about the events of the night to concentrate on reading anything. 

As she sat there thinking, the phone rang. She walked over to it and answered, "Hello?"

"Mom?" Rory said.

"Honey, hi, something wrong?"

"Nope, just wanted to make sure I could come home. I mean, I know we said ten, but I wanted to be sure before I just showed up."

"Yup, he left. Come on home."

"Okay." Rory paused. "How was it?"

"Great," Lorelai said. "Now hurry home so I can tell you about it."

"I'm there. Bye," Rory said. Lorelai smiled as she hung up the phone and sat back down on the couch to wait for Rory.

* * *

The next afternoon, Lorelai wandered into the kitchen where Rory sat at the table doing homework. Lorelai sat across from her. She rested her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands and stared at Rory. 

Rory glanced up and narrowed her eyes at Lorelai. "Something wrong?" Rory asked. Lorelai sighed dramatically. Rory nodded, "I'll take that as a yes. What is it?"

Lorelai bit her bottom lip for a moment before she spoke. "I have a dilemma and I need you to de-dilemmatize it.

"Is that a word?" Rory asked.

"It is now," Lorelai said, sitting up straight. "Listen, okay, here's the problem. I want to go to Luke's."

Rory nodded slowly. "Okay." She turned to a blank page in her notebook. "I'll write out step by step instructions for you, Mom." She read aloud as she wrote, "Step one, put on coat."

Lorelai grabbed her pen. "No, come on, this is serious. I want to go to Luke's but I feel too weird about it."

"Why?" Rory asked. "You said you had a great time. What's the problem?"

Lorelai sighed. "The problem is that me and Luke had a date last night, and now when I go in there it won't be me ordering coffee from my old pal Luke, it'll be me ordering coffee from Luke, the guy I kissed last night."

"But -" Rory started.

"With tongue," Lorelai added.

"Oh, gross, Mom!" Rory exclaimed, making a face. "Blech."

"Sorry," Lorelai said. "But I don't know what to say or how to act now. I mean, normally after a date you talk on the phone or something before you see the guy again and it makes it less uncomfortable for when you see each other face to face. But if I just walk into the diner today, it'll be a, 'whoa, we just had a date last night, do I mention it or what' kind of a quandary."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Mom, you just said what you have to do. Call him first before you go."

Lorelai stared up at the ceiling. "Call him," she said. "Hm. Call him. . .call him?"

"Yeah, just call him," Rory said. "You know, on the phone." She pointed toward the hallway table where the phone was. 

Lorelai stood up. "Okay, I'll go call him. Thank you." 

Rory shrugged. "That's why I'm here, to de-dilemmatize."

Lorelai smiled and walked towards the living room, picking up the phone and bringing it to the couch. She dialed Luke's apartment first, then realizing he would be at work, she hung up and dialed the diner. "Luke's," Luke answered in his normal overworked tone.

"Luke, hey," Lorelai said. 

Luke's voice softened. "Lorelai, hi. Uh, how's everything?"

Lorelai suddenly wasn't sure what to say. She stammered, "Good. Uh, I just. . .uh, I just wanted to make sure that . . .um, that the diner was open today." She made a face and slapped herself on the forehead.

Luke paused. "Uh, yeah, it's open." He let out a small laugh. "Is that why you really called?"

"No," she admitted. She reached up and twirled a strand of hair around her finger nervously.

"Didn't think so. So what's up?" Luke asked.

Lorelai paused. "Um, I just wanted to, ya know, tell you that I had a good time last night."

"Oh, uh, me too," Luke replied. "Um, I was actually going to call you, but then I figured you'd just come in, so. . ."

"Oh, yeah, I'll probably be in later," she said.

"Good," Luke said. "Good."

Lorelai bit her lip. "Okay, so I. . .guess I'll see you later then."

"Yup, see you later," he said.

"Bye Luke," she said. Lorelai hung up the phone and walked back into the kitchen. "Okay, called him," she announced.

"Dilemma gone?" Rory asked.

"Dilemma's gone," Lorelai confirmed.

Rory smiled. "Good."

Lorelai nodded. "So, I'm gonna head to the diner in a little while if you wanna come."

Rory nodded. "Okay."

* * *

When Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner later that afternoon, Lorelai's eyes immediately searched out Luke and found him behind the counter. She locked eyes with him and smiled as Rory led her to a table. Luke brought over two cups of coffee. "Hey," he said, placing them on the table.

"Hey," Lorelai said.

"Hey Luke," Rory said. "Heard you survived movie night with Mom."

Luke smiled. "Yeah, it was tough but I got through it."

Rory nodded. "Congratulations. Not everyone makes it out alive."

Lorelai scoffed. "I hope the two of you are not insinuating that I'm annoying."

Luke smirked. "No, not at all. What can I get you?"

"Burger," Rory said. 

"The same," Lorelai said. "With fries. Don't you want fries?"

"With fries, please," Rory said.

Luke rolled his eyes. "You want a side of lard with that too?"

"Hey, if you got it, throw it on top of the fries," Lorelai said. Luke smiled and walked away. Lorelai turned to Rory. "Hey, that wasn't weird for you, was it?"

Rory shook her head. "No, you?"

Lorelai smiled. "Nope."

Rory smiled. "Good."

Lorelai thought for a moment and stared at Luke behind the counter. She turned to Rory and said, "Hey, listen, we have two Fridays off, right? So what about this Friday we do something together, just you and me, and then the following Friday we. . . go our own separate ways. You know, you can hang out with Dean or Lane or whatever and I can. . . " Her voice trailed off as her eyes floated to Luke at the counter.

Rory gasped. "You're ditching me for a date with Luke? Oh my God."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "No! I just thought that -"

Rory laughed. "I'm kidding, Mom. That sounds good."

Lorelai smacked her shoulder. "Ah, you're such an evil child. Don't tease."

Rory smiled. "Sorry." 

When their meals came, Lorelai ate hers unusually slowly, as if trying to prolong her visit to the diner. Rory finished her entire meal before Lorelai was halfway done. 

Rory sighed loudly. "Mom, are you gonna finish that?" 

"Mm hmm," she said, taking a bite of her burger and chewing it slowly.

Rory checked her watch. "Well, I'm gonna go. I've got some homework to finish up and I don't really feel like sitting here all day while you take one bite every ten minutes." She rolled her eyes and stood up. "See you at home," she said, grabbing one of Lorelai's fries and heading out the door.

"Bye hon," Lorelai called. She continued to eat slowly, glancing at Luke as he went from table to table. 

As he walked past her table, he stopped and asked, "Everything okay? Where's Rory?"

"Oh, she finished before me so she went home to do homework," Lorelai said. She pointed to Rory's chair. "Got a sec to sit down?"

Luke glanced around the diner. "Uh, yeah, sure." He sat down next to Lorelai. They stared at each other casually before he cleared his throat and said, "So, uh, last night was great."

Lorelai nodded quickly in agreement. "Yeah, it was."

Luke swallowed hard and said, "So, did you. . . maybe, want to do it again?" He glanced at her nervously.

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah." She paused and narrowed her eyes at him. "You do too, right?"

Luke laughed. "Yeah, I do too."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good. Uh, sometime this week?"

Luke nodded. "Sure. Uh, what about. . .Wednesday night?"

Lorelai thought for a moment. "Yeah, that's fine. Any ideas on what we should do?"

Luke shrugged. "We'll think of something before then."

"Yeah, we got time," Lorelai said. She wiped her lips on her napkin and dropped it on her plate. "Finished," she announced.

"Here, I'll take it." Luke stacked it on top of Rory's plate and stood up. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

Lorelai nodded. "Probably."

"Okay, tomorrow then," Luke said, smiling. He picked up the dishes and walked away.

"Luke, wait," she called. "The check."

Luke kept walking. "Forget it."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and followed him to the counter. "No Luke, no, no, no." She took out some money and held it out. "Free pie occasionally is one thing, no free meals. Take it."

Luke stared at it and folded his arms across his chest.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "You think you're more stubborn than me? I can stand here all day holding this out." She waved the bills towards him. 

"Oh yeah?" he asked. 

She nodded. "Yup. . . but it's easier just to do this." She dropped the money on the counter and smiled at him. "Bye." She turned around and walked away.

* * *

PART 4

* * *

The next morning, Lorelai walked into the Independence Inn and placed her purse under the front desk. "Morning Michel," she said.

Michel handed her a slip of paper. "Sookie asked me to give this to you the minute you got here."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "And you're actually doing it? Wow."

"She told me if I didn't then she would never make my low-fat whole wheat cranberry muffins again." Michel scowled.

Lorelai gave him a sympathetic look. "Aw, poor Michel, being threatened. Well, I'll be sure to tell her you delivered it in a promptly manner." 

"You better. She's an evil, evil woman," Michel muttered as he walked away. 

Lorelai opened up the piece of paper and read it. She smiled to herself and walked into the kitchen. 

"Okay, Sookie, my butt is now in the kitchen, just like the note says," Lorelai announced, holding it up. 

"Ah, you're here!" Sookie exclaimed. She dropped the wooden spoon she was holding onto the counter and rushed over to her. She put her hands on Lorelai's shoulders and led to her to a stool. Sookie sat down next to her and said eagerly, "What happened with Luke? Tell me everything."

Lorelai laughed. "Tell you everything? What's everything?"

"Everything that's happened that has anything to do with you and Luke since Saturday. You ran out of here and were headed towards the diner. Continue." She stared at Lorelai with wide eyes.

Lorelai took a deep breath and smiled. "Okay, so I went to the diner and explained to him that I had been nervous and stuff about the date so I backed out, but that I had thought about it and I still thought we should hang out if he wanted to."

"Ooh, I bet he wanted to," Sookie said excitedly.

"Hey," Lorelai interrupted, narrowing her eyes. "This is my story here." 

Sookie frowned. "Sorry. Go on."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay. So he said okay, and he came over that night and we watched a movie and ate pizza."

"Luke ate pizza?" Sookie asked, surprised.

"Low-fat cheese with vegetables," Lorelai explained.

Sookie nodded. "Ah. Go on." 

"Okay, so we watched the movie and like halfway through the movie I turned it off and said that we should talk about something - because on first dates, people usually talk, you know?"

Sookie nodded. "Right, they talk. So you talked?"

Lorelai nodded. "We started asking each other questions like what's our favorite movie and stuff, to get to know more about each other. And it was his turn to ask me a question and he gets this little smirk on his face and asks me what my favorite piece of lingerie is."

Sookie gasped. "He didn't!"

"He did!" Lorelai laughed. "I was so surprised. I mean, it's Luke. I associate Luke with words like sports or tools or coffee, not the word lingerie."

Sookie giggled. "No, not at all. So did you answer him?"

"Yup," Lorelai nodded. "And then I asked him if he wore boxers or briefs." She smirked and raised her eyebrows. 

Sookie laughed. "Whoa, way to get right to the point. Wait, let me guess - boxers?"

Lorelai nodded and paused as a slow smile appeared on her lips. "And then he kissed me."

Sookie clasped a hand over her mouth and squealed. "Oh my God, this is so exciting! How was it?"

Lorelai smiled as she said, "Pretty great. The first one was good. . .but it definitely had a touch of weirdness in it, you know?"

"Yeah, I can imagine." Sookie nodded. "It was . . .wait, the first one? How many were there? Details!" she begged.

"Three, there were three," Lorelai replied. "Two on the couch and then one by the door. The first one was a soft and gentle kinda thing, the second one was way more heated, and then the third was kind of a mixture of the two. They were all great." Lorelai stared into space with a smile as she thought about them. 

Sookie smiled. "Aww, honey, you look happy. I told you it wouldn't be too weird."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, I mean, it didn't even feel like a date, really. It was more like hanging out with a friend. . .until we got to the kissing part. That was definitely a little weird. Nice and great, I'll admit, but still weird."

Sookie nodded. "Yeah, but you'll get used to it. I mean, if you go out with him again." She looked at Lorelai expectantly. 

Lorelai smiled. "We made another date for Wednesday."

Sookie gasped. "Ah, you guys. . .I knew it. I just knew it."

Lorelai smiled and stood up. "Okay, so that's all the details, Sook." She started walking towards the door, then suddenly stopped and turned around. "Oh yeah, Michel gave me the note right away so you don't have to withhold the muffins."

"Aw, but the scared look on his face was so funny." Sookie giggled. 

Lorelai smiled. "Bye Sookie," she called as she walked out of the kitchen.

* * * 

On Wednesday night, Lorelai walked into the diner just before seven to meet Luke. She saw him talking to Caesar by the counter, and she waited by the door for him. A few seconds later he walked over to her. "Hey," he said. "You ready?"

She nodded. "Yup, but the question is, are you ready?" She playfully poked him in the chest.

He smirked. "Yes, I'm ready. You know, this is not my first time at a movie theater. I have been there before."

Lorelai smiled. "I know, but it's such a rare occasion that I'm actually kind of excited for you."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Let's go."

As they walked to the bookstore, Lorelai saw Miss Patty up ahead of them. "Ooh, Patty's going to the movie too. You know what that means."

"Oh great, so the whole town will know everything we do in there before the night is over," Luke said with a sigh. 

Lorelai glanced at him and smiled. "Everything we do in there? You planning on putting the moves on me?"

Luke's eyes widened. "No, I didn't. . .that's not. . .no, I was just. . ."

"Maybe pull that thing with the fake yawn so you can put your arm around me?" Lorelai teased. She laughed and patted his shoulder. "Luke, I'm kidding, chill out." Lorelai stopped at the sidewalk in front of the bookstore and turned to him. "You know, we don't have to go in if you don't want to."

Luke shook his head. "No, I want to." He paused before he asked, "Don't you want to?" 

"Yeah, I want to," Lorelai nodded.

"Okay, so we both want to, so let's go," Luke said, walking up the front steps. Lorelai followed him and they walked into the bookstore.

* * * 

Two hours later, they walked back out and rushed down the steps toward the diner. "Hurry, Luke," Lorelai urged. "She's coming!"

Miss Patty trailed after them, calling, "Lorelai, just one more question, dear!"

Lorelai and Luke broke into a jog as they neared the diner. They walked inside and Luke locked the door and put the Closed sign in the window as several customers inside stared at him oddly.

He announced, "You guys can take your time, we're just not letting anyone else in." He walked over to the counter as Lorelai stared out the window at Miss Patty. She gave a playful wave to her and walked over to Luke. She sat on a stool as he poured her a cup of coffee.

"Thanks," she said, taking a sip. "You know, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be."

"What, Patty's interrogation?" Luke asked. "Or the date?"

Lorelai smiled. "The interrogation, silly. The date was great. You can never go wrong when watching The Birds."

"Well, yeah, because it's such a romantic movie," Luke said knowingly.

Lorelai laughed. "Yes, it is. The perfect way to a woman's heart is through man-eating birds."

Luke smiled. "Good to know." He gestured toward the window. "So, you think Patty will. . ." 

"Oh yeah," Lorelai nodded. "The whole town will know within the hour that not only were we on a date, but that you put your hand on my knee."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I believe the correct phrase you're looking for is that *you* put my hand on your own knee just to give Patty something to talk about."

Lorelai giggled. "Yeah, well, she needs gossip to put on her website." She narrowed her eyes at him. "What, are you telling me you didn't enjoy it?" Luke smiled at her slyly. Lorelai pointed at him accusingly. "Aha! I knew it."

He laughed and walked over to the front window. "Uh, I think she's gone if you want me to walk you home." He unlocked the door and walked back to the counter.

"Hmm, can I have pie first?" Lorelai asked.

Luke sighed. "That is so unhealthy."

"Luke, come on, the popcorn and Red Vines and Gummy Bears didn't fill me up. Please?" She leaned forward and pouted.

"Fine," he gave in. "A small piece." He turned around to get her a slice. As he placed it in front of her, he casually said, "So, uh, you said the date was great."

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, I did say that."

Luke picked up a dish towel and wiped the counter. He looked down as he said, "So, does that mean you want to . . . you know. . . possibly. . ."

Lorelai smiled at his shyness and said, "Yeah, that'd be good."

He looked up at her. "Yeah?" 

Lorelai nodded and took a bite of pie. "Mm hmm," she mumbled with her mouth full. She finished chewing and said, "Oh, hey, how about next Friday? My parents are going out of town tomorrow and there's no weekly dinner for two weeks."

Luke smiled and said, "You must be thrilled."

She nodded. "Totally. And me and Rory are celebrating tomorrow night by getting random piercings. She's going for the nose, I'm going for the tongue."

Luke smiled. "Oh yeah?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yup. Uh, but next week I'm free. How 'bout it?"

Luke nodded. "Sounds good."

"Good." She took a sip of coffee. "Any ideas on what you wanna do?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. Dinner. . .bowling?"

Lorelai smiled. "Bowling?"

Luke smiled. "Yeah. Do you know how to bowl?"

Lorelai scoffed. "Yes, I know how to bowl. I must warn you that I suck at it so I'll probably be losing the whole time which will bring out my competitiveness and then the night will probably end with me throwing a screaming fit in the center of the lane and result in us getting thrown out of the bowling alley." She smiled.

He let out a small laugh. "Sounds highly entertaining." He walked around the counter and sat on the stool next to her. They talked as she continued on her pie and coffee. A small amount of begging encouraged Luke to give her another small piece, and by the time she had finished, all of the other customers had left and Luke had sent Caesar home. 

He locked up the diner and they started walking to her house. After a few seconds, Luke glanced down at their hands hanging side by side. He brought his gaze up to her face as he slowly clasped his hand around hers and waited for her reaction. She looked at him and smiled shyly, and softly gripped his hand back. 

They walked up the front porch and Lorelai pushed open the door, then turned around and smiled. "So. . .uh, I'll probably be at the diner tomorrow for coffee or something."

Luke nodded. "I'll be there." 

After a brief pause of uncertainty on how to end the night, he took a step forward and kissed her, and was relieved when she returned it. He pulled back with a smile. "You know, I have a feeling that you're subconsciously trying to pass your coffee addiction to me," he said, tasting it on his lips. 

She smiled. "Yeah, I typically walk around at night and kiss everyone in the hopes that the entire town will become addicted like me."

"You know, doing that essentially means that there'll be less coffee for you," he pointed out. "I'd rethink the plan."

"Hmm, good point," she said, raising her eyebrows. She smiled. "Night Luke."

"Night," he replied. He watched her as she stepped into the house and shut the door, then turned around and headed home.

* * * 

The next afternoon, Sookie walked into the lobby and found Lorelai at the front desk sorting the mail. Sookie leaned against the desk and sighed. 

"What's wrong honey?" Lorelai asked. "I got here like an hour ago and walked into the kitchen to get coffee and you didn't even see me. You were running around all crazy like you were in some sort of Iron Chef cook-off."

Sookie nodded. "Well, there was a little mix-up with the lunch specials. The waiters got tomorrow's specials mixed up with today's specials and people were ordering all these different things and - " She sighed. "I'm beat."

"Aww," Lorelai said. "You wanna go for a walk or something? Get some fresh air?"

Sookie nodded. "Yeah, let me just tell them I'll be back in a bit." Sookie walked into the kitchen and returned a few seconds later with her jacket. They walked out of the inn towards the center of town. 

"So?" Sookie said. 

"So what?" Lorelai asked.

"So, I haven't talked to you all morning! How was movie last night?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai smiled. "Good, it was good."

Sookie nudged her playfully and smiled. "Patty said Luke put his hand on your knee."

Lorelai laughed. "Man, she's good."

Sookie giggled. "Yeah, I think the whole town knows."

Lorelai smiled and shook her head slightly. "Oh boy, I bet Luke just loves that, everybody talking about us. You know how he likes to keep to himself."

"Mm hmm," Sookie said. They walked along a little before she said, "So, you guys haven't. . . you know. . .yet?"

"Nope," Lorelai said quickly.

"Well, do you want to?" Sookie said, smiling.

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, part of me wants to, but the other part is just like kinda - I don't know. It's Luke, he's my friend, Sookie. Just, can you imagine how weird that would be? It was weird when we kissed, I can't imagine how weird it would be to -" Her voice trailed off.

"Have you guys talked about it?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai laughed. "Sookie, we're not teenagers. Adults don't usually sit down and say, 'Okay, this is a big decision, do you think we should sleep together?' It just happens in the moment. I don't even know if he's thought about it."

Sookie laughed. "Are you kidding? He's probably thought about it for the past five years, Lorelai." 

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Thanks for adding absolutely no pressure at all." 

Sookie grimaced. "Sorry. But if you think about it, he's probably scared. I mean, he's liked you for so long. He's probably really nervous."

"Yeah, he was nervous when he tried to hold my hand last night, like he thought I would say no or something. And then he was nervous with kissing me goodnight too," Lorelai said with a smile. She paused and sighed. "I don't know. Why are we even talking about this now anyway? I mean, we've only had two dates. Two," she repeated. 

"Right, you don't have to rush anything. And the fact that you want to must mean that things are going well, right?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai nodded and smiled. "Yeah, things are going well. And I definitely wanna do it." She paused. "But then again, I wanted to do it with Max after the first date and look how that turned out." She laughed. "So maybe it's better that we're waiting."

"Waiting never hurt anybody," Sookie agreed. 

Lorelai smiled. "No, it didn't. I guess we'll just deal with that situation when it rises." 

Sookie smiled and raised her eyebrow. 

Lorelai rolled her eyes and laughed. "Okay, bad choice of words."

* * *

On Saturday afternoon, Lorelai and Rory sat on the couch watching television. Lorelai reached casually into the bag of Cheetos on her lap but her hand was met with the bottom of the empty bag. She looked inside and gasped. She pouted towards Rory. "Rory, they're gone, all gone. I'm heartbroken. This bag was such a good bag. It opened up so easily without tearing, it never talked back or tried to run away or anything." She sighed. "It's like losing a close personal friend, someone you thought would be around forever."

Rory nodded and passed her the bag of Fritos. "Here."

"Ooh, Fritos!" Lorelai exclaimed excitedly, dropping the empty Cheetos bag on the floor. She immediately pulled out a handful of Fritos and ate some.

"Over your mourning period already?" Rory asked. 

"Mmm," Lorelai nodded with her mouthful.

They sat there a few more minutes when the doorbell rang. Lorelai pointed at Rory. "Your turn."

"How do you figure?" Rory asked, narrowing her eyes.

Lorelai scoffed. "I got the mail today."

"Tsk," Rory said, shaking her head. "That doesn't count because the doorbell didn't actually ring." 

Lorelai sighed. "Maybe they'll go away. Shh!"

The doorbell rang again and they glanced at each other. 

"Rory, please. I'm. . .uh. . " Lorelai picked up the empty Cheetos bag and hugged it tightly against her chest. "I'm still mourning the loss of my friend." She pouted.

Rory rolled her eyes. "You know, considering the facts that you eat junk all day and are too lazy to walk ten feet to answer the door, I don't know how you maintain your girlish figure." She stood up with a sigh. 

"It's good genes," Lorelai said. "Don't worry, you got 'em too."

As Lorelai reached into the Fritos bag again, Rory walked to the door and pulled it open. "Dad!" Rory exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Lorelai quickly whipped her head around and looked at the front door where Christopher and Rory were hugging. "Uh, just stopping by on my way to Stamford."

Lorelai turned off the TV and stood up as Rory asked, "Oh, is Sherry here too?" 

"No, actually, she's on a business trip up north," he said. He looked into the living room and saw Lorelai walking towards him. "Hi."

Lorelai pursed her lips. "Hey." She looked down at the floor. 

"Uh, Rory, could you leave your Mom and I alone?" Christopher asked. 

Rory glanced back and forth between Lorelai and Christopher. "Oh, uh, sure. Yeah, I was gonna go to the bookstore anyway. Let me just grab my wallet." She walked to her bedroom. 

Lorelai walked into the living room and Christopher followed her. They stared at each other uncomfortably until Rory came out of her bedroom and, after a quick goodbye, walked out the front door.

Lorelai folded her arms across her chest. "What are you doing here?"

Christopher sighed. "Lor, I just. . . I wanted to say I'm sorry that I reacted the way I did in the diner. That was . . . a little much."

Lorelai swallowed hard and nodded. "Yeah, just a tad dramatic."

"Yeah, I know," he nodded.

"You know, Chris, I wasn't blaming you for anything," Lorelai said with a sigh. "I'm sorry if it came out like that, but that wasn't why I said all of that stupid stuff to you."

He shrugged. "I. . .that's how I interpreted it, I'm sorry." He sat down on the couch and started wringing his hands uncomfortably. He stared up at her. "I just. . .I've been thinking about it all week and. . .I mean, Lorelai, why didn't you ever tell me that you were waiting for me? When I came to Stars Hollow last year, why didn't you even mention it? I would've gotten my life together a lot sooner if I knew that's what you wanted."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, that's something that you had to do for yourself. You had to want to do it or else you wouldn't have been happy."

"I did it for Sherry and I'm happy," Christopher pointed out.

"Oh, are you?" Lorelai asked, folding her arms across her chest. "Are you happy?"

Christopher looked down at the floor. "Yeah, I. . ." 

"Because if someone made me change my life around, I don't know if I'd be too happy about that. That's something I'd have to do myself for me, not for anyone else. For me," she repeated loudly, patting herself on her chest. 

Christopher didn't say anything. 

Lorelai sat next to him on the couch, and she softened her voice. "Chris, I want you to be happy, I really do. But you need to take a step back from the situation and make sure that you actually are happy with what's going on in your life, and not just pretending to be." 

Christopher was silent for a moment. He finally nodded and said, "I'm about ninety percent happy."

Lorelai nodded. "Ninety percent, huh? That's pretty good. Now just think about what can make it a hundred percent and then do whatever you can to make it happen." Lorelai patted him on the knee.

Christopher nodded as he stared straight ahead for a moment. He slowly turned his head to look at her. His eyes stared into hers and he leaned forward to kiss her. Lorelai quickly jumped off the couch before his lips reached hers. "Whoa - what are you doing?" she asked, taking a few steps backwards. 

He stood up and shrugged. "What? You said to do what I needed to do to be happy. Well, being with you would make me happy." 

Lorelai shook her head. "No, Chris, I meant with Sherry. Do what you have to do to be one hundred percent happy with Sherry. You know, talk to her or something. Chris, you're good with her."

He walked towards her. "But I could be better with you," he insisted.

Lorelai took several steps back and shook her head. "Chris, I already told you - "

"Yes, I know," he interrupted. "I know you said that you can move on now, but you can't honestly tell me that you brushed away all of your feelings just like that. A lifetime of feelings doesn't just go away. There has to be something still there."

"Chris, I -," Lorelai started.

He stepped up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Are you telling me that there's not one part of you that wants us to be a real family - you, me, Rory, all together? You're telling me that if I was standing here right now and telling you that I loved you and wanted to marry you, you wouldn't even consider it?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Is that what you're doing?" she asked quietly.

"Maybe I am - what would you say?" he asked.

"I would say that. . ." Lorelai shifted her feet uncomfortably as her eyes glanced around the room for several seconds, trying to avoid looking at him. She looked up at the ceiling and sighed softly, then she finally brought her gaze back to him and smiled. 

"See?" Christopher asked.

Lorelai shrugged and said, "No."

Christopher narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry, but I would say no. You know, a few months ago I would've loved for me and you and Rory to be a real family, but I told you that I was ready to move on. . .and I've moved on." 

Christopher exhaled loudly and stared at her. After a pause, he said, "You're serious?"

"Yup," she said. She shoved her hands in her jeans pockets. 

Christopher stared at her with a bewildered expression. "Okay, I guess a lifetime of feelings *can* just go away. Huh. Learn something new everyday." He sat on the couch. 

She sat next to him. "Chris, they didn't just go away. I just. . . I think maybe we just weren't meant to be with each other as adults, you know? I mean, listen, I think you just need to talk things over with Sherry. Things are good with you guys, and I'm sure you can figure out a way to get that extra ten percent, huh?"

Christopher nodded. "I know, you're right." He smiled and added, "As always."

She smiled. "Of course." She paused and glanced at the clock. "Uh, you wanna stay for dinner or something? We can stop and get Rory at the bookstore and then go somewhere."

Christopher nodded. "Yeah, sure. I actually don't have to be in Stamford until Monday anyway." He stood up and walked towards the front hallway. Lorelai followed him, grabbed her coat and purse, and they walked out the door.

* * *

PART 5

* * *

Lorelai and Christopher walked to the bookstore. She pulled open the door and they walked over to the counter. "Hey Andrew, is Rory here?" Lorelai asked. 

"Yup, right over there," he said, pointing toward the back. Lorelai turned around and followed the direction of his finger, and her eyes landed on Rory in the back of the store reading a book.

Christopher waited up front as Lorelai walked to the back. She tapped Rory on the shoulder. "Hey."

Rory was slightly startled and she turned around. "Hey. What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yup, your dad's gonna stay for dinner before he leaves." She gestured to Christopher standing by the door. "You ready to eat?"

"Oh, cool. Yeah, let's go." Rory put the book back on the shelf and started walking toward the door.

"Aren't you gonna buy that?" Lorelai asked, following her. 

"Nah, I have it at home," Rory said. "I just noticed it while I was browsing and had the sudden urge to read it again."

Lorelai laughed. "You know, other kids get sudden urges to steal or start fires, but you get them to read. How'd I get so lucky?"

Rory smiled and shrugged just as she reached Christopher. "Dad, what do you feel like eating?"

He shrugged. "I'm up for anything." 

Lorelai smiled. "Ah, I got it. Teriyaki Joe's?"

"Ooh!" Rory said. "Definitely." Rory pushed open the door and walked out onto the sidewalk, with Lorelai and Christopher following her to the restaurant. 

Christopher raised an eyebrow curiously. "Sounds spicy."

Lorelai shook her head. "Nah. See, the key is to suck on a bunch of ice cubes before you eat to numb your taste buds, and that way the food that would normally be super hot and spicy is only a little hot and spicy."

Christopher nodded and smiled. "Very ingenious."

Lorelai smiled. "I know, right? I have all these great tips for people. I'm currently writing a book called, 'Important Random Stuff That You Need To Know But No One Tells You.' Keep your eye on the New York Times' Best Sellers List."

He nodded. "I will. Good luck with that." 

* * *

An hour later, they walked out of the restaurant and towards their house. As they walked past the Black and White and Read bookstore, they saw a sign that said "Cool Hand Luke, Tonight, 7:30." 

Lorelai gasped. "Cool Hand Luke! Oh my God! What time is it?"

Christopher checked his watch. "7:15."

"Ooh, we didn't miss it!" Rory said excitedly. 

"Let's go in!" Lorelai said.

"Uh, you guys go ahead, I should probably get back on the road," Christopher said. 

"What? Aww. No, come on Chris," Lorelai said, pouting. "You said you didn't have to be there until Monday."

"Yeah, I know, but – ," Chris started.

"Why the heck were you going so early anyway?" Lorelai interrupted.

Christopher shrugged. "I don't know. Sherry was out of town, there wasn't anything for me to do at home."

"Well, there won't be anything for you to do by yourself down there in a hotel either," Lorelai pointed out. "Stay and watch the movie with us. Then you can sleep at our house tonight and leave tomorrow." She smiled. "It'll be fun, I promise."

"Yeah, come on Dad, please?" Rory asked. 

Christopher looked back and forth between them. He sighed. "Okay, fine. Let's go in," he said, gesturing toward the front door.

Lorelai smiled. "Yay, okay, let's go." She ran up the steps, and Rory and Christopher followed her into the movie. 

* * *

Lorelai woke up later the next morning and wandered downstairs in the sweatpants and tank top she had slept in. Christopher sat on the couch with Rory watching TV. "Morning," Lorelai said, stifling a yawn.

"Morning Mom," Rory said.

"Hey Lor," Christopher said. "Interesting ensemble. A tank top in winter?"

She nodded. "Yeah, last night was one of those nights where I just wanted to bury myself under like a hundred blankets because it's so cozy, but then it gets a little warm and I start sweating to death, so I have to balance it out by wearing a tank top. You know how it goes."

Christopher nodded. "Sure, totally understand," he said, giving a curious sideways glance to Rory. "How do you live with her?" he asked quietly 

Rory smiled. "Uh, Dad went out this morning and bought us stuff for breakfast."

"Wow, really?" Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows. 

"Uh, yeah. Since you only had whipped cream and pickles, I thought I'd run out and get some stuff," Christopher said.

Lorelai laughed. "Hey, whipped cream and pickles, that's a well balanced meal right there." She started walking to the kitchen. "Did you go to the market and buy stuff to cook?"

Christopher followed her. "Nah, just got some stuff from the diner."

Lorelai stopped abruptly as she saw the familiar looking takeout containers on the table. She turned around and looked at Christopher. "What diner?"

Christopher laughed. "What do you mean, what diner? The diner you practically live at."

Lorelai put a hand on her forehead. "Luke's? You went to Luke's this morning? By yourself?"

Christopher smiled. "Yup. Surprised?"

"Was he there? Did you see Luke?" she asked, biting her lip nervously.

"Yeah, he was there," Christopher said. "He knew who I was." He narrowed his eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"He knew who you were?" Lorelai's eyes widened. "What did he say?" 

"Wait, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Christopher, what did he say?" Lorelai repeated quickly.

Christopher narrowed his eyes at her. "He asked if I was Rory's dad and I said yes. What's wrong?"

"What else? Did you say anything else?" Lorelai asked. "Anything at all?"

Christopher shrugged and said, "Uh, he asked how long I'd been in town, and I told him I just dropped by yesterday and ended up unexpectedly sleeping at your house."

"Oh my God!" Lorelai clasped a hand over her mouth and smacked Christopher on the shoulder. "No, no, no!"  


"Hey!" he exclaimed, stepping back from her. "What the heck is wrong? I brought you breakfast!"

"Yes, I appreciate that, thank you, but I have to go," she said. Lorelai walked past Christopher and ran upstairs to her room. She quickly put on a pair of sneakers and ran back down. Christopher stood at the bottom of the steps looking confused.

"I'll be right back," Lorelai said. She walked into the front entryway and pulled on her coat.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Rory said, standing up and walking over to her. 

"Yeah, Lor, what's going on?" Christopher asked, joining them near the door.

She zipped up her coat. "I have to go to Luke's. Rory, while I'm gone, you explain to your dad why it's not good news that Luke found out on his own that Dad slept over last night." 

Rory's eyes widened. "Uh oh. Good luck."

Christopher sighed. "All right, when did this family because so confusing?"

"Bye," Lorelai said, rushing out the door. She walked quickly towards the diner, worried about what was going through Luke's mind. She kept repeating over and over, "You'll just explain everything, he'll understand."

She walked into the diner and scanned the breakfast crowd for Luke, with no luck. She walked up to Caesar at the cash register. "Caesar, have you seen Luke?"

"Yeah, he's upstairs," he replied, gesturing towards the stairway.

Lorelai quickly walked behind the counter and rushed upstairs to Luke's apartment. She took a deep breath before she knocked on the door. 

A few seconds later, Luke pulled it open, an obvious look of discontent on his face. "Hey," he muttered. He left the door open and walked back inside.

Lorelai stepped inside. "Luke, it's not what you think."

He turned around and shrugged. "Hey, do whatever you want, it doesn't matter to me."

"Luke, listen to me, nothing happened," Lorelai insisted.

"Hey, we only went out twice," Luke pointed out. 

"I know, but –," Lorelai started.

He cut her off. "I mean, it's not like we were exclusive or anything." 

Lorelai sighed. "I really don't – "

He interrupted, "You can do whatever you want, it doesn't –"

"Luke, listen to me!" Lorelai said loudly. 

Luke's eyes widened with surprise and he stared at her silently.

"Luke, Christopher stopped by yesterday to apologize for what happened in the diner a few weeks ago. Then he and Rory and I went to dinner and a movie, and then he spent the night on the couch," Lorelai said. "That's it. Nothing happened. We're not back together."

He shrugged. "You know, it's really not my business what you do anyway, so. . ." Luke said, folding his arms across his chest. "Do whatever you want." 

Lorelai threw her hands up in the air as she groaned with frustration. "Agh, stop saying that! You're not even listening to me!" She sighed loudly. "Fine, you caught me, Luke. I give up. He didn't sleep on the couch, he slept in my bed. He was planning on sleeping on the couch but he was too tired after we had sex to make it down the steps." She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. 

Luke swallowed hard and stared at her as the tension in the room thickened. 

"Is that what you think happened? Is that what you wanted to hear? I can tell you what you want to hear but it doesn't make it true," Lorelai said loudly as she gestured animatedly with her hands. "Would you like to hear what really happened? He asked me if I had really moved on from him. And thinking of you at the time and how fun our dates I'd been, I told him yes, that I'd really moved on and didn't want to be with him." She shrugged nonchalantly and added, "Oh, and he also tried to kiss me but I moved out of the way before he could - once again, because I was thinking of you. My mistake, though, because I didn't realize at the time that our dates meant nothing to you and that you'd act like such a jerk about all this!" Lorelai yelled angrily. She turned around and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

* * * 

A few minutes later, Lorelai walked into her house, her emotions still raging inside of her. She saw Chris on the couch on his cell phone, and by the soft tone of his voice, she assumed he was talking to Sherry. She walked into the kitchen and sat at the table, crossing her arms in front of her and resting her head on them. She sighed loudly.

Rory walked out of her bedroom. "Mom?" She walked over and sat next to her. "How'd it go?"

Lorelai lifted up her head. "Well, let's just say that it won't make my list of the top three thousand favorite moments of my life." She sighed.

"Aww, what happened?" Rory asked, giving her mom a sympathetic look.

"Ugh, I just got so mad," Lorelai said, squeezing her fists tightly. "I explained to him that your dad slept on the couch and nothing even remotely non-platonic happened, but he just kept saying 'do whatever you want' like he wasn't even listening to anything I said!" 

Lorelai and Rory both looked up as Christopher walked into the room. He held out his hands innocently in front of him. "Lor, I'm so sorry about all of this," he said sincerely.

Lorelai waved him off. "It's not your fault. You didn't know that the simple act of buying breakfast would ultimately have life changing consequences."

"No, I didn't," he agreed. "But I feel terrible. Um. . .do you want me to go talk to him?"

Lorelai let out a small laugh. "Um, no. Thank you for the offer, but no. That'll just make it worse."

"I'm sure you were both just mad in the moment and said things you didn't mean to say. You guys can probably work this out later after everything's calmed down," Rory said, giving an optimistic smile.

Lorelai nodded and swallowed hard. "Probably." She sighed. "Hopefully."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Lorelai and Rory stood on the front porch watching Christopher's Volvo pull out of the driveway. As it disappeared out of view, they walked back inside the house. Lorelai wandered over to the couch and collapsed on it with a sigh, burying her face in the pillow.

Rory stood over her, uncertain of what to say. She stared at her for a few minutes before she said, "Mom?"

"Hmm?" Lorelai mumbled.

"I think I'm gonna go to Lane's for a while. She's not grounded anymore. Um, can I get you anything before I leave?"

Lorelai picked her head up. "No thanks. Have fun," she said before replacing her head back on the pillow. 

"Okay, call me if you need something," Rory said.

Lorelai heard Rory's footsteps walk away, and a few seconds later she heard the front door open and shut. Lorelai lay on the couch while a mixture of emotions ran through her. She clenched her eyes shut and forced herself to go to sleep, hoping a nap would make the problems go away.

Almost twenty-five minutes later, she heard a banging noise. She ignored it, thinking it was just in her head. When she heard it again, she groggily lifted her head up and looked around, trying to determine where it was coming from. Hearing it a third time, she narrowed the location to the side door and she turned her head around to look. 

She saw Luke on the porch staring at her through the door window. She slowly stood up and walked over to the door. She unlocked it and walked back to the couch without opening it. 

Luke hesitantly pushed it open and stuck his head through the door. "Can I come in?" he asked.

Lorelai deepened her voice and, mocking his statement from earlier, said, "Do whatever you want." She looked at him pointedly, then she folded her arms across her chest and sat on the couch. 

Luke sighed as he walked in. He sat next to her and they both stared straight ahead at the fireplace. After several seconds of silence, he quietly said, "Uh, I'm sorry."

She nodded. "Mmhmm. For what?"

He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What do you mean, for what?"

Lorelai turned to look at him. "Well, are you sorry for not listening to me. . . for not believing me. . . for casually tossing aside our dates like they meant absolutely nothing to you. . .for acting like a jerk? You know, there's a multitude of things that you could be apologizing for right now and I just wanna make sure that I know which one you're here for." She turned her head away indignantly and pursed her lips. 

Luke nodded and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Uh, I guess you could just roll them altogether and say that I'm sorry for everything."

She turned her head to look at him, raising her eyebrows as she waited for him to say more.

He sighed and looked down at his hands uncomfortably. "I just. . . when that guy said that he had slept here. . .I just assumed that you guys had made up and. . . you know." He paused a moment. "It wasn't jealousy that got to me. I mean, it probably was a little bit but it was more like . . .well, I was just a little. . .upset, I guess, because I just figured that our dates didn't really mean much to you and so I kinda got into this defensive mode right away. I guess I was trying to kid myself into believing that they didn't mean much to me either so I wouldn't be the one getting hurt again. And I guess I wasn't really listening to what you were saying because I was upset and mad and. . . ." He turned his head to look at her. She stared back at him. He finally sighed and said, "I'm not really good at this kind of thing. Say something."

"That's probably the most I've ever heard you say at one time that wasn't some sort of angry rant," she said. 

He shrugged. "Yeah, well. . .you know."

She looked at the fireplace and smiled to herself. "There's the master of brevity that I'm used to," she said. She sighed and shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry for yelling and everything, but I was. . .I was just so mad that you were just ignoring me completely. It was just. . .frustrating."

He took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry. Like I said, I was just in a defensive mode. But I was listening to you, I believe you that nothing happened. And I didn't mean to. . .toss off our dates. They did mean something to me. I just acted like that because I was stupid and. . . thought that you tossed them off and went back to that guy, and I sorta figured I should just try to convince myself to. . . get over you as fast as possible." He looked down at the floor.

"And are you over me?" she asked quietly.

He brought his gaze up to meet hers and stared into her eyes. "What do you think?"

She smiled and leaned in to kiss him. As he pulled back, Luke said softly, "Do you remember when you asked me awhile ago if I had a guilty pleasure?"

"Yeah." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Uh oh, have you suddenly gone into this 'sharing your feelings' mode and now you're gonna admit that you run an underground drug ring or illegal adult video store or something?"

He smirked. "No, I gave those up weeks ago."

She smiled. "Okay, good. Go on."

He looked at her nervously for a moment before he spoke. "Uh, well, you. . ." He paused and swallowed hard. "You're . . . my guilty pleasure. Thinking about you . . that's what makes me happy."

Lorelai closed her eyes for a moment. She opened them up and said, "You did not just say that."

Luke let out a small laugh of surprise. "What?"

Lorelai smiled and kissed him. She pulled back and said, "That was the sweetest thing I've ever heard you say. Or heard anyone say to me." She shook her head slightly toward the ground. "I. . .uh. . .God, I don't have any idea how to respond to something like that." 

She locked eyes with him, then brought her hands up behind his neck and pulled his lips to hers. She gave him several quick kisses before their lips simultaneously parted, leading to a kiss that was overwhelming with passion. As their tongues glided over each other softly, Luke brought his hands to her hips and she ran her fingers through the soft hair that stuck out under his cap. As their lips reluctantly pulled away from each other to allow oxygen in, Luke pulled her closer into an embrace. 

Luke pulled back from her and cleared his throat. "Um, not to ruin this moment or anything. . .but I'm not really good at this 'sharing your feelings' stuff, so you really shouldn't get used to hearing me talk like that."

She smiled. "I won't."

"Okay, good." He stood up. "Um, I have to get back to the diner. We're good now, right?"

She stood up and nodded. "We're good."

"Still on for Friday?"

"Yup," she nodded. "Dinner, bowling, me being a sore loser." 

"Sounds good," he smiled. She walked with him to the side door. He placed his hands on her cheeks and kissed her.

She smiled through the kiss. "You know, you look so macho but you kiss so gently." 

"Yeah, well, that's our secret," he said. "Bye." Lorelai smiled to herself as she watched him walk down the porch and across the yard. 

Lorelai walked into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge. She walked back to the living room and sat down on the couch. She sat staring at the fireplace, thinking. She smiled to herself as Luke's voice ran through her mind, repeating 'You're my guilty pleasure. . . .that's what makes me happy.' A part of her couldn't help feeling slightly happy about the morning's events, since it forced him to express feelings that he probably would've been too nervous to share otherwise. 

She picked up Cosmo and started flipping through it. Almost twenty minutes later, Rory walked through the front door and Lorelai turned to look at her. "Hey hon," Lorelai said, smiling.

"Hey." Rory smiled and walked over to sit next to her. "Whoa, when I left you were suffocating yourself on the couch, and now - you're happy."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, well, Luke came over and we talked, and things are good now."

"Oh, that's great, that was good that he came over," Rory said, picking lint off of her shirt nonchalantly.

Lorelai stared at her for a moment. "Rory?"

Rory looked up. "Yeah?"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes, staring at Rory's expression. Suddenly she sighed and said, "Okay, what did you do?"

She looked at her questioningly. "What are you talking about?"

Lorelai tilted her head. "Rory," she said sternly. "Spill it."

Rory sighed. "I stopped in the diner and Luke was there looking all sad, and I told him that Dad had left and you were here alone if he wanted to talk to you. And at first he was nervous because he thought you were really mad, but I told him that you were just upset and that the sooner you talked it out, the better." She paused and bit her lip. "Are you mad?" 

Lorelai shrugged. "Well, I can't be because it worked out, but next time let me handle it, okay? I just don't want you to get caught in the middle of something."

Rory nodded. "Okay." Rory stood up and started walking toward the kitchen. 

"Hey," Lorelai said.

Rory turned around. "What?"

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks." 

Rory smiled. "You're welcome."

* * * 

That evening, Lorelai and Rory walked to the video store. As they passed the dance studio, Miss Patty walked out smoking a cigarette. "Lorelai, dear?" she called.

Lorelai and Rory stopped walking and turned around. "Hi Patty," Lorelai said.

Patty walked down the steps. "Dear, what's this I hear - Rory's adorable father spent the night at your house last night?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Lorelai sighed. "On the couch, Patty."

Patty's eyes widened. "You can both fit on the couch?" She gazed up at the sky. "My, my, to be young again." 

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "He slept on the couch, Patty. I slept upstairs. Nothing happened."

"Mmhmm," Patty said. "Well, I think you better explain that to Luke, honey. Oh boy, this morning when Rory's father came in, you could just see Luke's face getting all – "

Lorelai held up her hand. "Uh, it's taken care of. Thanks for your concern." Lorelai grabbed Rory's arm and dragged her away, calling out, "Bye Patty." 

They walked quickly to the video store as Lorelai said, "You know, we should really consider wearing signs that say, you know, 'never talk to us unless it's an extreme emergency' or something." 

Rory nodded. "It would make life so much easier." 

They walked into the video store and started looking around. A few minutes later, Luke walked out from behind the Rory Curtain holding a video. Lorelai gasped and clasped her hand over her mouth as an embarrassed look washed over his face.

"Luke, Luke, Luke," she said, shaking her head. "What could you possibly want in there?"

He held the movie behind his back. "Nothing. I'll see you tomorrow." He tried to walk past her, but Lorelai grabbed his arm.

"Come on Luke, we won't tell anyone," Rory said, smiling. 

Luke sighed and, knowing that they would never give up, reluctantly held it out to them. 

Lorelai grabbed it and read the cover. She held it up to Rory. "Dog Day Afternoon." She paused. "Why were you embarrassed to be renting this? That's a great movie."

He shrugged. "You can find something to mock about everything, so I just figured it was safer to avoid you two altogether."

She smiled and handed it back to him. "No mocking this time. Carry on." 

"Thank you." He walked up to the register. As Rory wandered back to the aisles to look around, Lorelai stood there watching Luke at the counter. She walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned around and rolled his eyes. "Oh great, did you think of something to mock?"

She laughed. "No, no. . . I just. . ." She noticed Kirk staring at them, so she pulled Luke over a few feet. "I just wanted to . . . you know, tell you that I was thinking about what you said earlier and it was. . . well, you. . " She shoved her hands into her pockets and glanced down at the floor uncomfortably. "You know, I didn't actually come out and say that you make me happy, too." She brought her eyes back up to meet his. "But you do."

He smiled. "Good." 

She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye Luke." She smiled to herself as she walked back over to Rory. 

* * * 

PART 6

* * * 

Two days later, on Tuesday night, Lorelai arrived home from work just as the phone was ringing. She heard Rory answer it in the living room. "Hello? . . . Grandma, hey! How's your trip?"

Lorelai walked into the living room and sat next to Rory on the couch.

"Good. . . Yeah, school's fine," Rory said into the phone. "Uh huh. Yeah, she just walked in. Hold on." 

Rory held out the phone toward Lorelai, who made a face as she took it and spoke into it. "Hi Mom, how's your trip?"

"Oh, it's wonderful. The weather is absolutely beautiful," Emily replied. 

"Good, that's good," Lorelai said. 

"Listen Lorelai, the reason I'm calling is because Martin and Gloria – they're our friends in North Carolina whose place we're staying at here in Florida – they've decided to come down to Florida too, but they can't make it until next week. And since we were hoping to spend some more time with them, we're going to be staying another week."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Wow, another week? Is that in the budget, Mom?"

"Oh, yes," Emily replied. "Since we're staying at Martin and Gloria's place, it won't cost us that much extra."

"Oh, good deal," Lorelai said, trying to hide her excitement about another weekly dinner being canceled.

"Yes, so we'll be back next Sunday," Emily said. She paused a moment. "Oh, Lorelai, I have to go. Your father wants to go back down to the hot tub."

Lorelai laughed. "Have fun, Mom. Say hi to Dad for us." 

"Bye Lorelai," Emily said.

"Bye." Lorelai hung up the phone.

Rory, who'd been listening to the conversation, asked, "What's this about another week?" 

Lorelai smiled. "They're staying in Florida another whole week, so we get next Friday night off too." 

"Wow," Rory said, her eyes widening. "Sounds like they're having a good time."

Lorelai nodded. "Yup. They get another week of fun, and we get another week off - we should totally celebrate tonight."

"By doing what?" Rory asked.

"Hmm, by going to Luke's for dinner?" Lorelai asked with a hint of enthusiasm. 

Rory smiled. "You just wanna see your boyfriend," she teased.

Lorelai scoffed. "He is not my boyfriend." She paused and grabbed Rory's arm. "You think he's my boyfriend?"

Rory laughed. "Yeah, I think so, Mom." 

She pursed her lips and thought for a moment. "Doesn't that sound a little weird though? I mean, say it - Luke's your boyfriend."

"Luke's your boyfriend," Rory repeated.

Lorelai made a face. "It sounds weird."

Rory smiled. "Mom, it sounds fine. And it's true, so get used to it." 

"Huh." Lorelai stared at the fireplace. "Luke's my boyfriend. . .Luke's my boyfriend. . . Hello Luke, you're my boyfriend." She turned to Rory. "Nope, it's still weird." 

Rory sighed. "What's weird – the actual phrase or the idea that he's your boyfriend?" 

"Both," Lorelai said. "I mean, we haven't been together that long yet."

Rory pointed at her. "Aha! But the very fact that you just said 'we haven't been together that long yet' kinda indicates that if you're not on a boyfriend and girlfriend level right now, you will be very soon." 

Lorelai nodded and thought for a moment. "Hmm. So you're saying that just because I unconsciously said the word 'yet', it means that this relationship is moving forward and ultimately he will be my boyfriend and so I should just start calling him that now?" 

"Uh huh. Now let's go see your boyfriend," Rory said, standing up and walking toward the door. 

Lorelai followed her. "Okay, let's go see my. . .boyfriend." She smiled. "Huh, it's getting less weird already." 

* * *

Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner and sat at an empty table. Lorelai stared down at the table tapping her fingernails, then suddenly looked up and said, "You know the scene in Teen Wolf when Michael J. Fox is surfing on top of the van?" 

"No, you're not doing it," Rory said pointedly.

Lorelai scoffed. "Why not?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Mom, we've had this conversation several times before and I told you when you become a werewolf, then you can do it. Until then, no." 

Lorelai frowned. "I thought you might've changed your mind." She looked up toward the counter and saw Luke talking to a customer. She stared at him. 

Rory followed her gaze and smiled. "He looks happy."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, he does."

"So do you," Rory added.

Lorelai smiled, still staring at Luke at the counter. A few seconds later, he caught her gaze and smiled. He held up a tea bag and raised his eyebrows. Lorelai shook her head. He shrugged, put the tea bag down, and held up the coffeepot. Lorelai nodded excitedly, and he smiled and rolled his eyes at her. 

A few seconds later, he brought two mugs of coffee over and set them on the table. "Hey."

"Hey Luke," Rory said, taking a sip of coffee.

"Hey," Lorelai said. "Trying to convert me to tea?"

"You know, one day I will and you'll look back and say, 'Man, Luke was right, tea is so much better'," Luke said. Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. He shrugged. "Okay, probably not."

She smiled. "Burgers and fries please."

"As usual," he said, scribbling it on his pad. 

"Ooh, wait, make it curly fries," Rory said.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Ooh, yeah!" 

"I'm all out," Luke said. "Only got regular fries."

Lorelai gasped. She folded her arms across her chest and pouted. 

Luke rolled his eyes. "You know, you're not gonna make it through life by pouting all the time."

She shrugged. "It's gotten me this far. And you know, this is a dining establishment, Luke, and everyone knows that according to the standards of the Lorelai Handbook, all dining establishments should offer at least two kinds of fries," she said.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Not that I care about complying with the Lorelai Handbook, but we do offer at least two kinds of fries – just not today because we're out of one of them." 

"Hm. Well, I think that you should – ," Lorelai started.

Rory clasped her hand over Lorelai's mouth. "Regular fries are fine Luke. Now hurry and make a run for it before she bites me."

Luke nodded appreciatively and walked toward the counter. 

Rory removed her hand and said quietly, "You know, if you're that annoying on dates then maybe this won't be heading toward a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. You're gonna end up all alone because you'll have annoyed him to death." 

Lorelai gasped. "Excuse me, I am very enjoyable on dates, thank you." Rory gave her a doubtful look. "Trust me," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows. 

* * * 

On Friday night, Lorelai and Luke walked out of Al's Pancake World where, despite Luke's protests, Lorelai's sudden craving for Chinese food had led them for dinner. 

As they stepped out onto the sidewalk, Lorelai grabbed Luke's arm. "Come on Luke," she urged. "It won't take long." 

Luke rolled his eyes. "Is this really necessary? You'll probably never wear them again."

Lorelai sighed. "Luke, I need to buy my own bowling shoes. I can't wear the ones they have there."

"You had all week to buy them," Luke pointed out. "Why'd you wait until tonight?" 

Lorelai scoffed. "Luke, I was busy. You know how women are – between the television watching and the feeling sick from the massive consumption of junk food and the hair washing, I just didn't have any time left." 

"Ah yes, now I know why I'm glad to be a man," Luke said. He took her hand and entwined his fingers through hers. "We don't have to go bowling if you don't want to, you know. We can find something else to do that doesn't involve purchasing new footwear."

"No, I want to go bowling, I do," she insisted. "We'll just stop really quick at the shoe store first. It won't take more than 15 minutes, I promise." She gave him a smile and raised her eyebrows. "Huh?"

Luke sighed. "Fine. Let's go."

Lorelai kissed him and smiled. "Thank you." 

A few minutes later, they walked into the shoe store. Lorelai went to the back of the store to try on shoes while Luke sat near the door, checking his watch every few seconds. After a few minutes Lorelai walked up to him and asked, "Luke, what do you think of these?" 

He looked down at the leather boots on her feet, then slowly brought his eyes back up to hers. "What are you doing? Those are not bowling shoes."

She smiled. "I know, but I saw them and just had to try them on. They look good, huh?" 

Luke rolled his eyes and pointed toward the back of the store. "Bowling shoes, now, go. He's waiting." He waved a finger towards Kirk, who was waiting impatiently for Lorelai with his hands on his hips.

She frowned. "Ah, you're no fun," she said, walking back to Kirk. 

A few minutes later she walked back over with a box. "Okay cranky, I got 'em, I just have to pay for 'em." 

Luke sighed. "Finally." He checked his watch. "Twenty-five minutes," he said in an annoyed tone.

She shrugged and smirked at him before she walked over to the cash register, and Luke couldn't help smile to himself. He would've sat in that store all day if she wanted him to - and she knew it. He stood up and walked over to the cash register. "I'll buy them," he said, pulling out his wallet.

Lorelai gently pushed his hand away. "No Luke, I got it. But thanks." Lorelai paid for them and Luke carried the bag for her as they walked out of the store toward the bowling alley.

* * * 

Twenty minutes later, they were siting at their lane in the noisy bowling alley, had picked out their bowling balls and were ready to start. "Okay, you go first so I can try to remember how to do this," Lorelai said, pushing him forward.

Luke picked up his ball and bowled it expertly down the center of the lane, leaving only two pins standing. He walked back towards Lorelai and she gave him an impressive nod. "Wow," she said.

He nodded, then picked up his ball and tossed it down the lane again, knocking down the other pins. He walked back to Lorelai smiling. 

Lorelai laughed. "Look at you being Mr. Showoff."

"Your turn." He pointed towards the pins. "Throw the ball that way."

"Very funny," she said. She smacked him playfully on the shoulder as she picked up her ball. She swung her arm back and tossed it, and it rolled slowly down the lane, eventually falling into the gutter just a few feet short of the pins. She turned around and made a face, "I was so close!"

Luke smiled and nodded. "Yeah, good try. You just need to warm up a little."

Lorelai grabbed her ball as it came back out the shoot and she tossed it down the lane, this time knocking down four pins. She clapped her hands, "Woo!" she shouted. She jogged over to Luke and tapped him on the shoulder. "Did you see that?"

Luke laughed. "Yes, I did. Very nice." 

Lorelai sat down and watched as Luke picked up his ball, walked up to the line, and tossed it down the lane, bowling a perfect strike.

Lorelai gasped and stood up. Luke walked back with a proud smile on his face that made Lorelai laugh. "Wow, way to make me feel like a total loser."

Luke laughed. "Nah, come on, I'll help you." He picked up her ball and led her up to the line. "Here, take this." Luke handed her the ball and stood behind her. He reached his arms around her waist to help her line the ball up at eye level. "Okay, first you bring the ball up to your eyes and line it up with the pins." 

"Okay, got it," Lorelai said, concentrating more on the feeling of Luke's arms around her than she was on the bowling instructions. With his body pressed tightly against hers, suddenly the temperature in the room felt like it was a hundred degrees. 

"Okay, now you bring it back like this," he said. Luke placed a hand on her elbow to guide her arm. "You want to extend your arm all the way back like this," he said. Lorelai barely heard him. She closed her eyes as his fingertips ran gently down her arm and sent a shiver of excitement through her body. 

"Mm hmm," she said, swallowing hard. She opened her eyes, almost forgetting that she was in a bowling alley as her single concentration was on the feeling of Luke's body pressed tightly against hers. She started to breathe deeper as a familiar feeling of arousal started to course through her body. She suddenly turned her head around and smiled. "Okay, I think I got it, Luke. Let's see how it works out."

"Okay." He took several steps back and folded his arms across his chest. 

She suddenly missed the close contact of his body, and she took a few deep breaths to cool herself down before she tossed the ball down the lane. As it knocked down seven pins, she gasped and excitedly turned and walked back toward Luke. "Man, you rock as a bowling instructor," she said as she hugged him. 

He smiled and hugged her back. "I know." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and let go of her. With hints of arousal still rolling through her, she pulled him back to her and kissed him with such intensity that he was actually taken aback. She smiled through the kiss and pulled away from him, leaving him panting to catch his breath. 

Luke raised his eyebrows at her as she walked over to get her ball, and watched her with a smile as she tossed it down the lane.

* * * 

At almost eleven o'clock that night, Lorelai and Luke walked up her front steps. "Wait here," she said. She walked quietly over to Rory's bedroom window and peeked inside, then walked back to Luke, "I'm pretty sure she's asleep. You wanna come in for a little while? I know it's late though, so if you don't want - "

"Yes," Luke interrupted, smiling. "I wanna come in."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay." 

They walked inside and took off their coats, and Lorelai put her bowling shoes in the closet. She gestured to the living room and said quietly, "Sit down. I'll get us some drinks." 

Luke nodded and walked over to the couch. Lorelai walked into the kitchen and, noticing that Rory's door was open, pulled it shut so they wouldn't wake her. She grabbed two bottled waters from the fridge and brought them to the living room. She handed one to Luke and sat next to him on the couch. 

"Thanks," he said. He opened the bottle and took a sip, then replaced the cap and set it on the coffee table. "So, the bowling was fun."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it was. Next time maybe we can keep score."

"Yeah, and I'll bowl with my eyes closed to make it fair."

Lorelai laughed. "Hey you, I got a strike, remember?"

Luke smiled and nodded. "Yes, you did. That was very impressive. And you also got some new shoes out of the night, so it was doubly successful."

Lorelai smiled. "Oh yeah, they'll go great with that new leather miniskirt I just bought."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Leather miniskirt?"

Lorelai took a sip of water and nodded. "Mm hmm. Why?" Luke shrugged. She smiled and said knowingly, "Oh, Luke's got a thing for leather."

He smiled shyly. "Do not."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh no? So if I went upstairs and put it on right now, it wouldn't affect you in the least?"

He smiled but didn't say anything. She put her water down and jumped up off the couch. "Let's try it out," she said, walking toward the staircase.

"No, you don't have – " Luke started to say, but she was already halfway up the stairs. 

A few minutes later she walked down wearing the leather miniskirt in place of the black pants she had been wearing. She stepped off the bottom step and spun around. "Like it?"

Luke nodded and stammered, "Yeah, it's uh. . it looks. . .you uh. . "

Lorelai laughed. "Luke, why is your face all red?" she teased, folding her arms across her chest.

He pulled at his collar. "It's just getting a little warm in here." He pulled off his flannel shirt and draped it over the arm of the couch. "Much better, I'm fine now." Lorelai's eyes immediately were drawn to his chest and arm muscles that were accentuated perfectly by his black T-shirt.

She smiled as she walked over and sat down next to him. She wagged her finger at him and said, "Admit it, leather totally turns you on."

Luke took a sip of water before he answered. He leaned towards her and said, "A little secret – it's not the leather part that does it, it's the legs. That skirt could be made of paper towels and you'd get the same reaction."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Oh, so you're a leg man, are ya?"

"You could definitely say that," he said, glancing not-so-subtly down at her legs.

Lorelai lifted his chin up so that his eyes locked with hers. "Hey, didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to look at a woman's legs when she's about to kiss you?"

Luke smiled. "Sorry." 

"That's okay," she said. She leaned in to kiss him, their soft lips locking together almost magnetically. Lorelai ran her hands over his chest and pulled back. "I'm a muscle-lover myself." 

She ran her fingers along the edge of his sleeve, rolling it up to see his bicep. She gasped loudly and said, "Oh my God!" She quickly covered her mouth as she realized how loud she was, hoping she didn't wake Rory. "Luke!" she whispered incredulously. "You have a tattoo!"

Luke glanced down at his arm and gasped. "I do? Oh my God!" 

She laughed at his sarcasm. "But when did you get a tattoo?" she asked.

"When I was a teenager," he said. "My dad had the exact same one."

Lorelai tilted her head to the side. "Aww, that's so sweet." She stared closely at the circle of small arrows and other random shapes. "What is it?"

Luke let out a small laugh. "You know, I'm not really sure."

Lorelai laughed. "What? You don't know?"

Luke shook his head. "Nope. It's just a design - it doesn't really mean anything."

Lorelai nodded. "Hmm. Well, whatever it is, it's sexy," she said, outlining the circle with her fingertip. 

"Oh yeah?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

She nodded. "Mm hmm." She placed her hands on his cheeks and guided his lips toward hers. What started off as short, quick kisses soon developed in intensity as both of their mouths opened and connected passionately. Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him tightly against her. 

When they finally broke apart, they were both panting to catch their breaths. Luke lowered his mouth to her neck, kissing and sucking on her soft skin. Lorelai's hands roamed his body, gliding over the curves of his back. As Luke brought his lips back up to her mouth, Lorelai felt his fingers at the bottom of her shirt trying to sneak their way underneath, and soon she felt them directly on her skin.

Luke pulled back from the kiss. He stared at her as his hand glided over the softness of her stomach and moved upwards. She leaned her head back against the couch as his hand grazed over her bra. Lorelai let out a soft moan as he cupped his hand over one of her breasts and squeezed it gently. 

"Oh God, Luke," she whispered toward the ceiling as a surge of arousal shot through her body. Her breathing increased as she became more stimulated, and her soft moans increased as Luke began stroking her with his thumb. 

She pulled him to her lips and kissed him hungrily as Luke placed his other hand on her knee. He slid it slowly down her leg to her ankle and then back up again, caressing her delicate skin. She pulled back from the kiss, and her heart started racing as he slowly slid his hand up past her knee and under the hem of her skirt. . .where it stopped. 

She waited anxiously for him to continue, and she stared directly into his eyes, silently giving him permission to move it upward. She saw his eyes look briefly toward the kitchen and she was surprised when he suddenly removed both of his hands from her body. 

"What's wrong?" she asked, breathing heavily from her arousal.

Luke sighed and slid back on the couch. "I just . . .we shouldn't do this. Not like this." 

Lorelai swallowed hard. "Oh, right, okay," she said, sitting up straight. 

Luke quickly added, "I mean, not that I don't want to, but I just think - right here, like this, with Rory here. . .it'd be a little. . ." He raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

Lorelai nodded as she realized that he was right, though part of her was disappointed that her arousal would go unfulfilled. "No, you're right, you're absolutely right." She kissed him on the cheek and said, "Don't get used to me saying that though." 

Luke smiled. "I won't. I'm quite aware of your incessant need to be right about everything."

Lorelai reached for her bottled water and took a long sip. She replaced it on the table and said, "Do you wanna watch TV or something?"

Luke glanced at his watch. "I should probably get going. It's pretty late." 

Lorelai nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. "Oh, okay." He grabbed his flannel shirt from the edge of the couch and pulled it on. She stood up and smoothed out her skirt, then grabbed Luke's hand and led him to the front door. 

As he pulled on his coat, he asked, "So, um, I'll see you tomorrow?" 

Lorelai nodded. "Probably."

He leaned in and kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tightly against him. "You know, that doesn't feel weird anymore. I think that's a good sign."

She smiled. "Yeah, and it didn't even take long for it to not feel weird. I mean, tonight's only our third date." She paused. "Wow, tonight's only our third date," she repeated.

"Yes, it is," Luke said. 

She shook her head in disbelief. "But. . . I don't know, doesn't it seem like we've been out more than that?"

Luke nodded. "Well, yeah. I mean, but that's just because we've known each other for so long and see each other every single day."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. I don't know, it just seems weird."

Luke laughed. "Okay, we started this conversation with me saying that things aren't weird anymore, and you finish it by saying things are still weird. Nice going." 

Lorelai smiled. "No, I don't mean weird weird, I just mean. . . you know - forget it, it's late. I don't really make sense when it's late."

"You don't really make sense when it's early either," he said with a smile. 

"Hey, that's not –," she started to protest, but he quickly pressed his lips against hers. She pulled back and smiled as she said, "You know, just because it's not weird anymore doesn't mean you can do it to shut me up."

"It works, though," he said. "Night." He pulled open the door and stepped out onto the porch. 

She leaned against the doorframe. "Bye," she said. She smiled as she watched him walk across the yard and disappear into the night before she slowly shut the front door.

* * * 

PART 7

* * *

The next morning in the inn's kitchen, Sookie was sitting at the counter writing out a menu as Lorelai walked through the door. "Hey Sookie," she said.

Sookie looked up, surprised. "Hey Sweetie. I didn't know you were coming in today."

Lorelai walked over to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup. "Yeah, well, Rory kicked me out of the house. She's working on a paper and she told me I was annoying her." She scoffed. "Me - annoying? Can you believe that? So I decided to come into work." She sat down next to Sookie and sighed.

Sookie narrowed her eyes. "Something wrong?"

Lorelai sighed again. "Just your average case of sexual frustration."

Sookie frowned sympathetically. "Aw, nothing yet, huh?"

She shook her head disappointedly. "We were close though. Last night, we were hanging out, things were just starting to get heated. . .but then he stopped."

"He stopped?" Sookie asked, raising her eyebrows.

"He stopped," Lorelai confirmed. "He was nervous about getting all into it with Rory right there."

Sookie's eyes widened. "What? Rory was right there? In the same room?"

"No!" Lorelai gasped. "She was asleep in her room and we were on the couch. Talking. Then flirting. And then making out. And then stopping the making out." She sighed.

"Honey, I kinda understand his reasoning though," Sookie said. "I mean, you used to not even wanna do it in the house at all, even when Rory wasn't home," she pointed out.

"I know," Lorelai said. "So why last night did I wanna do it with her twenty feet away?" she asked herself aloud. She thought for a moment and said, "I guess because I just really wanted it to happen." She took a sip of coffee. "But it didn't."

"Because he stopped," Sookie said knowingly. "Why didn't you guys just go upstairs?"

"I don't know," Lorelai said with a shrug. "But I kinda got the impression that he didn't want to do it at all with Rory in the house, not just because she was so close. And if that's true, I mean – where the heck are we gonna do it? His apartment only has that one main room – so unless we lock Jess in the bathroom, it's not gonna happen there. We'll have to be one of those couples who does it in like public bathrooms or cars or motels." She sighed. 

Sookie giggled. "You could probably get a room here at the inn for really cheap."

Lorelai smacked her lightly on the shoulder. "No, thank you. I don't want to do it here, Sookie," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, just a thought, sorry," Sookie said. She put her hand on her chin and thought. "Hmm. Well, just invite him over when you know Rory's gonna be out of the house for a long time." She gasped and widened her eyes. "I got it! When she's at school!"

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Hmm, good thought. Although I doubt he would leave the diner in the middle of the day." She took a sip of coffee. 

Sookie smirked. "Lorelai, he's closed down the entire diner for you before, I don't think he'd say no if you asked him to leave for a little while. . .especially if you tell him why." 

Lorelai smiled. "Hmm, good point. I'll keep that in mind. Although I should probably wait to see if it happens naturally before I go setting up sex dates." She laughed and said, "Boy, that sounds so romantic. But, hey, if it doesn't happen soon and I get to the point where I'm about to explode from the built up sexual tension, that may be my only choice." She walked over to the coffee maker and refilled her cup before she walked toward the door to the lobby. "Okay, I'll be at the front desk. Thanks Sookie."

"Bye," Sookie said, watching her walk through the door. 

* * *

Two days later, on Monday night, Lorelai walked through the front door and called out, "I'm home!" She put her purse down and hung up her coat. She walked into the kitchen as Rory came out of her bedroom sucking on a lollipop.

"Hey Mom," Rory said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Hey," Lorelai said. She pointed to the lollipop. "Is that all we have for dinner?"

Rory shrugged. "Pretty much."

Lorelai walked over to the fridge and pulled it open, grimacing when she saw how empty it was. "Man, we really need to go to the market." She shut the door, then sat down at the table and flipped through the pile of mail. 

Rory sat down next to her. "So listen, today I was thinking - "

Lorelai looked up and interrupted, "Oh, wait, were you thinking about that guy who accidentally got his wrong leg amputated when he went into surgery? Because I was thinking about that earlier, and if you were thinking about that too then that would mean we had some pretty cool psychic vibes going on. Is that what you were thinking?" Lorelai asked excitedly. 

Rory stared at her. "Uh, no."

Lorelai frowned. "Oh. Go on then."

"Thank you. So, um, what did you wanna do this Friday? I mean, since we have off from dinner - did you want to do something with just us, or go our own separate ways again?" Rory asked, biting down on her lollipop.

Lorelai thought for a moment. "Hmm. Good question. What do you think?"

Rory shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. If you wanna do something with Luke then I'll just find something else to do."

"You sure?" Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes. 

Rory nodded. "Yup."

"Okay, separate ways it is, then." Lorelai smiled and thought for a moment. "Ooh, maybe I'll get Luke to take me someplace nice, like a fancy restaurant or something."

Rory smiled. "Good luck with that." She stood up and walked into her bedroom.

* * * 

That night, Lorelai was in her room getting ready for bed when the phone rang. She answered it after the first ring. "Hello?"

"Hey," Luke said.

Lorelai smiled. "Hey. I'd just about given up on you."

"I said I'd call you right back. I'm a man of my word," he said.

She looked at the clock and let out a laugh. "Yeah, 'right back' was like 2 hours ago."

"Yeah, sorry. There was some sort of concert or something at the high school and we got really busy. Kids in stupid band costumes came in, ordered a ton of food, didn't eat it, then left a dime for a tip," he said in an annoyed tone. 

"Aw. Well, I'll be sure to give you an extra big tip next time to make you feel better," Lorelai said. "So are you still at the diner or upstairs?" 

"The diner. I just closed up and now I'm sitting at the counter staring out the window at two teenagers making out on a park bench." He scoffed. "Can you believe that? Where are these kids' parents, and do they not have any curfew imposed at all?" he said loudly. He paused a moment, then said, "Oh wait, it's Rory and Dean. Sorry."

Lorelai laughed. "Liar! Rory's downstairs in bed."

He let out a small laugh. "Oh, sorry, my mistake. I swear it looks just like her."

"Uh huh." Lorelai smiled. "Okay, listen, I wanna ask you something about Friday night - are you free?"

"Hm, not yet, but I can arrange to be," Luke replied.

"Good. I was thinking that we could go somewhere nice. You know, like, we could get all dressed up and go somewhere really romantic. There's this really nice Italian restaurant in Hartford and I can - "

"Wait," Luke interrupted. "You mean, like one of those places with barely any lighting so you can't tell that every entrée on the menu costs fifty dollars until after you've already eaten and gotten the check? One of those places that has those stupid people sitting in the bathroom handing out towels that you have to smile at awkwardly as you wash your hands? One of those places with those snooty maitre d's that I'd have to tip just so we can get a table?" 

Lorelai paused. "Well, uh, you don't have to tip them. We can sit on the floor."

Luke let out a small laugh. "Wow. If you're willing to sit on the floor, then you must really wanna go." 

"Well, we don't have to," Lorelai said. "Judging by your little rant there, I'd say you're not a big fan of those kinds of places, so let's just forget it. We can just do something else." 

Luke paused. "If you wanna go, then we can go."

Lorelai smiled. "Really?"

"Yes, really." He sighed and muttered, "And I guess I'll even wear a suit."

"Aw, thank you." 

"You're welcome."

She paused a moment. "Luke?"

"What?"

She narrowed her eyes. "You own a suit?"

"Yeah, believe it or not, I do. Two actually. And they're pretty nice."

She smiled. "I can't wait to see it then." She stifled a yawn. "Okay, I'm officially going to bed now. Night Luke."

"Night."

* * * 

On Friday night, Lorelai stood in front of the mirror checking herself over. She ran a brush through her perfectly straightened hair, adjusted the waist of her skirt, and smoothed out her black satin shirt. She checked her makeup, and after touching up her lipstick, she walked down the steps. 

Rory stood in front of the hall mirror putting a clip in her hair. She turned around when she heard her mom walking down the stairs. She smiled and nodded approvingly. "Nice outfit."

"Thanks," Lorelai said, looking down at it. "I narrowed it down to either this or that new dress with the sorta strappy thing going on in the back, and you know, I suddenly decided that I wasn't in a strappy thing sorta mood." She shrugged.

Rory nodded. "It's understandable." She walked to the front door and grabbed her coat. "Okay, I'm leaving."

Lorelai walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Have fun. See you later."

"Bye." Rory walked out the front door as Lorelai walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a paper cup and filled it with some water from the water cooler, then sat at the table and sipped it slowly while she waited for Luke. When the doorbell did finally ring, she walked quickly to the front door and pulled it open. 

She gasped. "Oh my God," Lorelai said, her mouth dropping open. She blinked her eyes a few times. "Luke, is that you?"

He smiled and turned around slowly. "You like?"

Lorelai's eyes started at the top with his hair, which was neatly combed but looked naked without his cap. Her gaze ran down past his cleanly shaven face to the blazer of his fitted black suit, then down to his creased pants and black shoes. 

"Luke. . .oh my God," she said, her eyes widening. "You look so . . . hot," she said with a laugh. Her eyes continued to roam his outfit in disbelief. "Wow."

He laughed. "Uh, thanks, I guess." He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her legs just a moment longer than he had intended them to. He brought his eyes up to meet hers and smiled. "You look . . .wow."

She smiled and stepped onto the porch to kiss him. "Thanks. Hold on one sec." She stepped back into the house, pulled on her jacket and grabbed her purse, then walked back out. She pulled the door shut behind her, giving the knob a turn to make sure it was locked. "Okay, let's go be fancy." 

* * * 

They pulled up to the restaurant forty-five minutes later, arriving slightly before their 7 p.m. reservation time. They walked inside the dim restaurant and were seated immediately. Twenty minutes later, their meals had been ordered and they were starting on their salads.

In between bites, Lorelai leaned forward and said, "Hey, you don't hate this, do you?"

He finished chewing before he answered. "No, it's nice," he said, looking around. "I'm having a good time."

"Are you sure?" Lorelai asked, tilting her head to the side. "I know you don't really go for this whole dressing-up, fancy evening stuff, so I'll feel really bad if you end up having a terrible night and hating me because I forced you to take me here."

"You didn't force me," he said, shaking his head. "I'm here because I want to be here." He paused, then added, "With you." 

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good." She went back to eating her salad.

* * * 

PART 8

* * *

Almost two hours later, they walked out of the restaurant holding hands and walked slowly to his truck. As they approached it, Lorelai asked, "You ever think about getting a new truck?" They stopped near the passenger door, and she eyed the many scratches and dents on the side.  
  
He shrugged. "Sometimes."  
  
"What's stopping you?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know. I've had this one forever. It's been good to me," he said, tapping on the hood.  
  
"Aw, you're sentimentally attached. How cute!" she said, smiling.  
  
He rolled his eyes and opened the door. "Just get in."  
  
She frowned and folded her arms across her chest. "Hey, tonight is a romantic date. Romantic, Luke. And saying 'just get in' is not being romantic. It is bordering dangerously close to rude."  
  
He took a deep breath and pursed his lips. "Please, let me help you get in the truck." He forced a smile and held out his hand.  
  
She smiled. "There you go, much better." She took his hand and climbed into the truck. He shut the door, then walked around to the driver's side, climbed in and started the engine. Lorelai put her hand on his arm. "Hey?"  
  
He turned to look at her. "What?"  
  
"Thanks for dinner." She leaned forward and kissed him softly, running her fingers over the unusual smoothness of his face.  
  
He smiled as she pulled back. "You're welcome." He backed out of the parking spot and drove through the lot.  
  
As he was about to pull out onto the street, Lorelai said, "Hey, you wanna see my parents' house?"  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, is it around here?"  
  
"Yup, just a few blocks." Lorelai directed him through the dimly lit Hartford streets, and minutes later he pulled into the driveway of the large mansion and put the truck in park.  
  
Luke let out a low whistle as he stared up at it through the window. "Wow. That's. . .wow. You grew up here?"  
  
"Uh huh," Lorelai nodded.  
  
"Was it like one of those houses where you weren't allowed to touch anything?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, it's got all kinds of – ," She paused and glanced at the house, then turned back to him. "You wanna see inside? Nobody's home."  
  
Luke shrugged uncomfortably. "Uh, I don't know. We probably shouldn't."  
  
Lorelai pulled her keys out of her purse. "Come on, I'll give you a really quick tour. They'll never even know we were here." She got out of the truck.  
  
Luke turned off the engine and followed her to the front porch. He looked around nervously at the neighbors' houses. "Are you sure we should be doing this? Isn't this breaking and entering or something?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Luke, I have key. It's not illegal."  
  
She unlocked the door and they walked into the house. The hall light was on, but the surrounding rooms were all darkened. She walked to the living room and turned on the light. Luke followed her, glancing around at the expensive looking furnishings.  
  
"Okay, this is the lovely living room where we gather for pre-dinner drinks," Lorelai said, gesturing to the bar.  
  
He nodded. "Nice. I guess the drinks are necessary before dinner so that you can make it through the whole night, huh?"  
  
"God, yes," Lorelai said with a laugh. "I'm usually in here downing the alcohol before Rory's even out of the car."  
  
Luke smiled and followed her into the dining room as she continued the tour. "And this is the lovely table where many a wonderful memory has taken place. You know, screaming, bickering, fighting, yelling, tension – all that fun family stuff."  
  
Luke laughed. "Sounds great. Do you have any happy memories of this place at all?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "A couple." She pointed to a doorway. "And through there is the kitchen." She glanced around. "Hmm. What else? Ooh, let's go to my dad's study." She started walking down the hall.  
  
"What's in there?" Luke asked, following her.  
  
"You'll see," she said. She walked into the study and switched on the light. "Look at that." She gestured to Rory's portrait behind the desk.  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Who is that?"  
  
Lorelai smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "It's Rory."  
  
Luke stared up at it. "Are you sure?"  
  
She scoffed. "Yes, I'm sure. Try squinting."  
  
Luke squinted and turned his head to the side. "Oh, now I can sort of see it. It's nice," he said. He glanced around the study. "Wow, a lot of books in here. Does Rory get her love of reading from your dad?"  
  
"Well, I'd say indirectly, yeah," she said. "I love reading too, so I guess I got it from him and Rory got it from me."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Luke asked. "You're a big reader?"  
  
She nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I'm not as into all the classics and stuff as Rory is, but I enjoy curling up with a good novel."  
  
"Yeah, me too," Luke said, glancing at the bookshelves.  
  
Lorelai walked out of the study. Luke followed her, shutting off the light and pulling the door closed behind him. Lorelai started walking toward the staircase. "You have to see Rory's bedroom."  
  
"Rory's bedroom?" Luke asked, surprised. "She has her own room here?"  
  
"Yup, my mom decorated it for her," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "You know, just in case she can one day convince Rory to leave the awfulness that is me in order to lead a more proper life here in Hartford." They climbed the stairs to the second floor and Lorelai led him to the bedroom at the end of the hall. She pushed open the door and turned the light on, then gestured for Luke to go in.  
  
He stepped into the room and let out a laugh. "Oh my God."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "I know, right? Can you even picture Rory in here?"  
  
Luke looked around. "It's very . . .pink," he said.  
  
Lorelai smiled and pointed to the wall over the bed. "Yeah, and check out the posters."  
  
Luke looked up and laughed. "Wow. Nice boy bands."  
  
"Yup." She grabbed his hand and turned out the light. "Okay, let's go." She pulled him into the hallway and they walked toward the stairway.  
  
Luke glanced at all the doors along the hallway. "There are a lot of rooms up here. Are they all bedrooms?"  
  
"Some of them are, but not all of them." Lorelai stopped and paused. "You wanna see my old room? It's still the same as when I was sixteen."  
  
Luke smiled. "Yeah, let's see what a sixteen year old Lorelai was like."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever Emily Gilmore wanted me to be like."  
  
She led him down the hall to her old bedroom, and walked in and turned on the light. Luke walked to the center of the room and looked around. "Wow, very. . . clean." He walked over to the large dollhouse and looked into it. "Huh. Did you ever play with this?"  
  
"Uh, a few times," Lorelai said as she sat on the edge of the bed. "My mom would sit on the chair and watch me as I played with it. It was odd because she would never actually play with me, she just sat and watched me play with it." She shrugged.  
  
"Weird," Luke said. He walked over and sat next to her on the bed.  
  
"Yeah," Lorelai said. "I think it kind of held back my imagination, you know? I couldn't really play with the dolls how I wanted to play with them. I'd always kind of restrict myself to the stuff I thought my mom would approve of, like having little tea parties and stuff, so it wasn't exactly fun."  
  
Luke nodded. "I know what you mean." He stared at the dollhouse for a moment, then turned to her and smiled. "Play with it now."  
  
She raised her eyebrows. "The dollhouse?"  
  
He nodded. "Sure. Your mom's not here, you can do whatever you want with it."  
  
She thought for a moment, then smiled. "Will you play with me?"  
  
He made a face. "You want me to play dolls?" he asked dryly.  
  
She nodded excitedly. "Come on Luke, it'll be fun." She stood up and took off her coat, dropping it on the bed next to her purse. She walked over to the doll house and stared back at him expectantly.  
  
He sighed loudly. "Fine. I will . . . play dolls," he said, rolling his eyes. He took off his suit jacket, then unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. He walked over to her. "I hope you realize that if you tell anyone about this, I'm cutting off the coffee supply permanently."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "You know, serious threats like that can really ruin the relationship between a customer and her coffee boy."  
  
"Coffee boy?" he said with a laugh. "I'm your coffee boy?"  
  
She kissed him and smiled. "Yes, you're my coffee boy. Got a problem with that?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"Can you at least make it coffee man?" he asked.  
  
She sighed. "Fine, coffee man." She reached into one of the rooms of the dollhouse and pulled out two small dolls. She held up the girl and said, "I'll be . . . hmm. . . I'll be Lola." She handed him the other one and said, "You're the boy. Give him a name."  
  
Luke shook his head. "I don't do names."  
  
"Luke, come on, you're no fun," she pouted.  
  
He sighed and thought for a moment. "Bob."  
  
She laughed. "Very original. Okay, Bob," she said in a deep mocking tone. She placed the girl doll into the miniature bedroom. "Bob, come into my room."  
  
Luke reluctantly placed his figure down and said, "Okay. . .uh, Lola." He laughed. "Oh God, you really better keep this a secret."  
  
She smiled and looked down at the dolls. "Bob, how're you doing?"  
  
"Wait, who is Bob exactly? Lola's brother?" Luke asked.  
  
"No, it's her boyfriend," Lorelai explained. "Now come on, get in character," she said, pointing to his doll.  
  
Luke sighed. "Uh, I'm fine Lola, how are you?" he said unenthusiastically.  
  
"I'm good," Lorelai said. "Uh, you know Bob, we've been dating for a few weeks now."  
  
"Yes we have," Luke agreed.  
  
"And it's been really great," Lorelai said, still looking at the dolls.  
  
"Yes it has," Luke agreed again.  
  
"And so I think that maybe it's time we . . . got a little more personal." Lorelai brought her gaze up from the dolls to Luke.  
  
Luke swallowed hard and stared at Lorelai as he said, "Uh, yeah, Lola, I think so too."  
  
A chill ran through Lorelai's body and her heart started racing. She turned to face him directly, then brought the doll up and held it in front of her. "Uh, Bob. . .do you think we should get more personal right now?"  
  
Luke held his doll up in front of him and said, "Yeah. . .Lola, I think so."  
  
Lorelai and Luke stared at each other for a moment. They dropped their dolls at the same time and stepped toward each other, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss that sent electric chills through both of their bodies. Their built-up sexual tension seemed to all come flowing out as their kiss deepened. Lorelai wrapped her arms around Luke's neck as they walked together toward the bed, not breaking the connection of their lips.  
  
When they finally did break apart, Lorelai's fingers started slowly unbuttoning his shirt. As she did so, she leaned in to kiss him again, but Luke surprised her by pulling his head away. "Wait, Lorelai, wait," he said, taking a step back. "Um, I don't have a . . . uh, are you on some sort of . . .you know?" He looked at her hopefully.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Pill? It's not a bad word, Luke. And yes."  
  
Luke let out a small sigh of relief as he stepped back toward her, and she resumed unbuttoning his shirt. She slid it off of him, revealing a white T- shirt that Lorelai slowly pulled up over his head and tossed on the floor. She ran her hands over his chest and arms as their mouths met again in a hungry kiss. Lorelai's mouth moved slowly from his lips down to his neck and chest as she kissed him over his upper body.  
  
Luke placed a hand on her chin and pulled her head up to his. He cupped his hands around the back of her neck and kissed her deeply, and they finally separated when the lack of oxygen became unbearable. As the sounds of their heavy breathing echoed throughout the room, Lorelai took a step back and sat on the bed. She kicked off her heels and slid herself back to rest her head on the pillows. She lay on her back, her chest rising noticeably faster than usual with her heavy breathing, and she gestured with her finger for him to join her.  


* * * 

They both stared up at the ceiling, their chests heaving as they struggled to catch their breaths, and Luke reached down and clasped his hand around hers. "Wow." 

  
Lorelai turned to him and smiled. "I'll second that. Wow."  
  
"That was just. . . wow," he said, shaking his head slightly.  
  
"Incredible," she said, still smiling. "It was incredible."

  
They kissed, and she leaned her head against his chest and snuggled closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her as she reached down and pulled the bottom of the comforter over them. His fingertips ran softly up and down her arm as her hand ran over his chest and stomach.  
  
"You know, that wasn't how I imagined it would be," Luke said quietly.  
  
Lorelai froze, as suddenly those insecure thoughts of trying to live up to his expectations of her came rushing back. She felt a knot in her stomach. She swallowed hard and said, "No?"  
  
"Nope," he said. After a brief pause, he added, "It was a million times better."  
  
Lorelai let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding. She smiled and turned her head to look up at him. He was staring down at her with a sly smile on his face, and she leaned up and kissed him. She pulled back and sighed. "I don't want to leave." She paused. "Hey, is Caesar at the diner?"  
  
"Yeah, why?" he asked.  
  
"He's gonna close up, right?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, why?" he repeated.  
  
She smiled. "Let's stay the night."  
  
He raised his eyebrows. "Stay the night? You wanna sleep here?"  
  
She ran her fingers over his chest and raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Who said anything about sleeping?" She kissed him.  
  
Luke smiled through the kiss. "Ah, now I fully support the 'staying the night' idea."  
  
She smiled. "Good. Let me just call Rory." She crawled to the foot of the bed and leaned over to grab her purse from the floor. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed her house.  
  
After several rings, Rory answered. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey hon," Lorelai said. "Did I wake you?"  
  
"Nope. What's up? Is something wrong?" Rory asked with a concerned tone.  
  
"No, everything's fine. Um, I just wanted to tell you not to wait up. I won't be home until really late."  
  
"How late?" Rory asked.  
  
"Um, like. . . tomorrow morning," Lorelai said, running her hand down Luke's leg.  
  
Rory gasped. "Mom! Where are you? At Luke's?"  
  
"Uh no. . .we're at your grandparents," she said.  
  
"Grandma and Grandpa's?" Rory asked, surprised. "What the heck are you doing there?"  
  
"Uh. . . " Lorelai started.  
  
"Oh my God, stupid question, don't answer," Rory said quickly. "Does Grandma know you're there?"  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "No, and she never will, understand?"  
  
"Got it," Rory said. "Um, see you tomorrow then."  
  
"Okay. Call the cell if you need me."  
  
"Okay. Night Mom."  
  
"Bye." Lorelai hung up the phone. She crawled back over to Luke and held out the phone. "You should call Jess."  
  
Luke stared at it and raised his eyebrows. "You want me to use a cell phone? Even though lab experiments have shown that human blood cells exposed to cell phone radiation suffered genetic damage, you still want me to use this cell phone?" He looked at her in disbelief.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Luke, I highly doubt that those studies apply to people who only use a cell phone once in their life." She dialed his apartment. She brought it to her ear and listened. "Okay, it's ringing, here." She held it out to him.  
  
He hesitated a moment before he reluctantly took it with a sigh. Lorelai leaned her head against Luke's chest as she listened to his side of the conversation. "Jess, yeah, it's me. Listen, I won't be home tonight. . . Bye."  
  
Lorelai sat up and laughed. "Did you rush that conversation to avoid the dangers of cell phones or is that how you guys talk to each other?"  
  
He handed the phone back to her. "Well, we're not exactly the two most talkative people in the world," Luke said.  
  
"I've noticed." She put the cell phone on the nightstand and crawled on top of him, straddling his stomach. She raised her eyebrows. "You ready for more fun?" He smiled and nodded. She shook her head lightly. "I don't know, Luke. I'm pretty wired right now. You think you can handle me?"  
  
Luke put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her down to his lips, kissing her deeply. He pulled back and said, "Give me all you got."  
  
Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "Okay. But don't say I didn't warn you."  
  
* * *  



	2. Parts 9 to 13

"It's Right There - parts 9 - 13"  
  
* * *  
  
PART 9  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, as Luke and Lorelai climbed through the bedroom window back into the room, Luke said, "I cannot believe you just made me do that."  
  
Lorelai giggled as she shut the window. "Luke, everyone should do it on a balcony at least once in their life, and now you can say that you have."  
  
"Yeah, well, it's the middle of the night in the middle of winter. We could've came back in the summer and done it then. It would've been more comfortable," he said, rubbing his arms for warmth.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You're such a baby. We were only out there for a few minutes." She looked around the room. "Hmm, I think we've done it at least once in every section of the room," she said, nodding impressively. "We're good."  
  
Luke walked over to the bed and collapsed onto it. "Mmhmm." He closed his eyes and pulled the comforter over himself.  
  
"Okay, I guess that means you're done for the night," Lorelai said with a laugh. "I'll be right back then." Lorelai walked down the hallway to the bathroom, then returned a few minutes later. She walked over to the bed and climbed in next to Luke, who seemed to already be half-asleep.  
  
As she started to pull the comforter up over her, she gasped. She tapped Luke repeatedly on the shoulder. "Luke, wake up."  
  
Luke rolled over and grumbled, "What's wrong?"  
  
"We need to wash the sheets," Lorelai said, holding the comforter up. "Look at this - it's all wrinkly. If there are any signs that we've been here while she's not home, my mom will throw the biggest conniption fit in the world, I'm not kidding."  
  
Luke groaned. "Lorelai, she probably doesn't even come in here."  
  
"Come on, get up," she urged, tapping him again.  
  
Luke sighed loudly. "You spend hours wearing me out and now instead of letting me sleep, you want me to do laundry?"  
  
"Yes," she replied.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "I'd rather not."  
  
She frowned. "Come on Luke. I just gave you the best four hours of your life, so you forfeit all complaining rights."  
  
Luke sat up and scoffed. "The best four hours of my life?"  
  
"Are you seriously telling me it wasn't?" she asked with a smirk.  
  
He shrugged. "Well, you know, Rachel was pretty limber."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Oh my God!" She smacked Luke playfully on his shoulder and shook her head. "Forget it, we are now in an abstinent relationship."  
  
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Luke said with a laugh. He leaned over and kissed her. "Yes, that was the best four hours of my life." He kissed her again, then leaned back against the pillow. "Except when you bit me," he muttered, rubbing the side of his neck.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "I apologized for that like a million times. And it was your own fault anyway."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "How so? Your teeth sank into my neck - how could that possibly be my fault? It's all you."  
  
"Actually, it was in the throes of passion, Luke, so it's not anyone's fault," she explained with an exasperated sigh. "Now stop wasting time, we have to wash these sheets." She climbed off the bed and started pulling the comforter off, trying to slide it out from underneath him. "Come on, Luke."  
  
Luke reluctantly climbed off the bed. Lorelai gathered the comforter into her arms and started walking toward the door with it.  
  
"Aren't you gonna put on some clothes?" Luke asked.  
  
She turned around and raised her eyebrows. "Why? Don't like the view?"  
  
Luke raised his hands innocently in front of his chest. "Hey, I'm not complaining."  
  
She smiled. "Grab those other sheets and follow me." She walked through the door into the hallway.  
  
Luke pulled on his boxers and his T-shirt, then grabbed the sheets and walked out of the room. Lorelai, who was waiting by the staircase, smiled as she saw his clothes. "Not a big fan of walking around other people's houses in the nude?"  
  
"I guess I'm a little more reserved than you are," he said.  
  
She smiled and led him down the stairs to the laundry room. She stuffed the comforter and sheets into the machine. "There's too much stuff in there," Luke observed, folding his arms across his chest. "You should do two loads."  
  
"We don't have time for two loads, Luke. This'll have to do." She poured in some detergent and turned the machine on. She waited for a moment to make sure it started, then turned around and faced Luke.  
  
Luke held out his hand. She took it and he pulled her toward him into an embrace. She leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. The warmth of his body against hers made a calming feeling run through Lorelai's body. He kissed the top of her head before he closed his eyes and rested his cheek against it.  
  
They were silent for almost a minute before Lorelai said, "Luke?"  
  
His eyes still closed, he replied, "What?"  
  
"Why do you like me?" she asked quietly.  
  
He opened his eyes and let out a small laugh. "What?"  
  
She lifted her head up and looked at him. "I mean, what is it about me that's made you like me for so long?"  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean, like you for so long?"  
  
"I mean, you've liked me for a really long time," Lorelai said with a shrug. She paused and quickly added, "Haven't you? I mean, 'cause that's what people were saying to me. They were like, 'he has a thing for you', and I was like, 'no, he doesn't,' but I mean, you're the only one who really knows how long you've been into this whole Niles/Daphne routine. Those other people could've just been seeing things or. . ." She abruptly closed her mouth when she saw Luke staring at her with a confused look. "I'll stop talking now."  
  
Luke looked down uncomfortably. "Other people have said that I've liked you for a long time?"  
  
"Uh, sort of," Lorelai said hesitantly, suddenly feeling stupid for starting the conversation. "But let's just forget it, it doesn't matter. Um, the hugging - let's go back to the quiet hugging." She leaned her head back against his chest. She brought her arms up under his shirt and ran her hands up and down his back.  
  
Luke didn't say anything for a minute. With her ear against his chest, Lorelai closed her eyes and concentrated on the rhythm of his breathing. Finally, he said quietly, "They're right - it's been a long time."  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes. She picked her head up and looked at him. "Yeah?"  
  
He swallowed hard and nodded.  
  
She brought her hand up and twirled a finger through his hair. "But why?"  
  
"Why. . . have I liked you for a long time?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.  
  
"Yeah," she said, shrugging. "Why me? I mean, there are millions of girls out there - why me?"  
  
He stared at her for a second before he let out a sigh. "Because. . . I don't know. . . because you're perfect."  
  
A panicked look appeared on Lorelai's face and she took a step back from him. "Don't say that," she said quickly.  
  
"What - what's wrong?" Luke asked, a look of surprise on his face.  
  
She shook her head. "Just don't say that. Don't think that about me, Luke," Lorelai said. She turned her back to him and took a few steps forward.  
  
Luke stood there for a moment looking at her with confusion. He took a step toward her and put a hand on her shoulder, then turned her body around to face him. She stood with her hands folded across her chest, biting her bottom lip nervously.  
  
"What's wrong?" Luke asked, reaching out and rubbing her arm. Feeling how cold it was, he said, "You're freezing." He took off his T-shirt and held it out to her.  
  
"Thanks," she said, taking it and pulling it over her head.  
  
"So, what is it?" he asked softly.  
  
"So. . .it's nothing." She leaned against the dryer and sighed.  
  
"That sigh means it's something, so what is it?" he asked, sounding slightly annoyed that she wouldn't talk about it.  
  
She stared at him for a minute, then she closed her eyes. When she opened them, she said, "Luke, I'm not perfect. . . and I don't want you to think I am because you're just. . .you're gonna be in for a rude awakening." She stared down at the floor. "The last thing I want to do is disappoint you."  
  
He walked over and stood directly in front of her, putting a hand on either of her shoulders. "Where the heck is this sudden lack of self-esteem coming from? You're not like that."  
  
She nodded. "Oh, yes I am, Luke. I try to hide it, but it's always there. After years of having my parents doubt my ability to do anything, it's made me realize how many faults I really do have, how many ways I'll disappoint people." She started wringing her hands uncomfortably. "That's why I don't get it - why would you wait so long for me? If you've waited this long just because you think I'm perfect, then. . .you're wrong."  
  
"Are you even listening to yourself?" he asked loudly. Lorelai looked up in surprise as Luke shook his head and said, "Don't act stupid, Lorelai."  
  
She scoffed. "You're calling me stupid?" she asked, getting defensive.  
  
"No, I'm not calling you stupid, I'm telling you not to act stupid. There's a difference. And you thinking that you're a disappointment to anyone, especially to me, is crazy," he said matter-of-factly, his face getting red. "Why would you ever - "  
  
She held up a hand to stop him. "Okay, hold on - why are you getting angry at me here?"  
  
He exhaled loudly. "Because if someone else was standing here talking about you like that, I'd get mad at them just the same."  
  
"Oh, so you're defending me from myself?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "Makes perfect sense."  
  
He sighed and pursed his lips, and Lorelai could tell he was thinking. He suddenly slipped his hands under her arms and picked her up, and sat her on top of the dryer. He stood directly in front of her, rested his hands on her thighs and stared into her eyes. "All right, I didn't wanna do this, but I'm switching into sensitive mode. Don't get used to it."  
  
A small smile fell on her lips as she stared at him.  
  
"Just listen to me - I know you have faults. You're annoying during movies, you eat an indescribable amount of junk food, you have the disgusting taste of coffee on your lips all the time," he said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Sorry about that," Lorelai muttered.  
  
He took her hands into his and continued, "But you're also smart and funny and strong-willed and an incredible mom and you'll do anything for your friends and. . .and you're not bad to look at either," he added with a smile.  
  
She looked down at her hands as she smiled shyly.  
  
He tilted her chin back up and kissed her. He stared at her for a second before he said, "I know you have faults, but. . .I still think you're perfect. So don't worry about disappointing me - it's not gonna happen. I'm the one who should worry about disappointing you."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "That's not gonna happen either."  
  
Luke smiled. "Good. Now I'm officially exiting out of sensitive mode."  
  
She smiled as she put her hands on his cheeks and led his lips to hers. She kissed him deeply, softly exploring his mouth with her tongue as she invited his to do the same in hers.  
  
As she pulled back, she said, "You know, if I would've known that you could be this sweet, I probably would've fallen for you years ago."  
  
"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," he said, rolling his eyes. "And don't expect it to come out when we're around other people - can't let my macho image be shattered."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Don't worry - if people find out that you're abnormally sensitive, I'll just tell them how good in bed you are to even things out."  
  
"Good plan." He stifled a yawn and glanced at the washing machine. "So are we gonna stay in the laundry room all night waiting for this stupid thing to be finished?"  
  
She glanced at the dials. "Well, there's only like twenty minutes left. Let's wait for it to finish, then we can throw the stuff in the dryer and go to sleep."  
  
Luke nodded. He turned around and leaned against the dryer directly in front of her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his back.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, as Lorelai slowly opened her eyes, it took her a moment to remember where she was. She glanced around the room and a smile appeared on her lips as she recalled the happenings of the night before.  
  
She glanced at Luke lying next to her on his back, still asleep. She turned onto her side and rested her head on her elbow. She smiled to herself as she watched him sleep - staring at his chest rising softly, listening to the quiet sound of his breathing.  
  
After a few minutes, she leaned over him and kissed him on the cheek a few times until Luke's eyes slowly opened. He glanced up at her and smiled. "Morning," he said as his eyes adjusted to the light of the room.  
  
"Morning," Lorelai said. She crawled up on top of him, and he brought his arms up around her, sliding his hands up under his T-shirt that she'd slept in like a nightgown. He ran his hands over the smooth skin of her back as they stared at each other. Lorelai ran her hands over his chest and said, "I had fun last night."  
  
He ran his fingers through her hair, pushing it behind her ears. "Me too." He glanced over at the clock on the nightstand and his eyes widened. "Oh God, I have to get to the diner."  
  
Lorelai glanced at the clock and rolled off of him. "It's only eight."  
  
"Yeah, but the diner opens at six - which you would know if you didn't sleep until ten on the weekends," Luke said as he got up off the bed. "Hurry up and get dressed. People are probably standing in line waiting for me to open." He gathered up his clothes and started getting dressed.  
  
Lorelai sighed and climbed off the bed. Realizing they hadn't slept on any regular linens, she said, "Shoot - we still have to make the bed." She grabbed the quilt they'd slept with and folded it up, then stuck it back in the closet where they'd found it the night before. "I'll be right back." She ran down to the laundry room, grabbed the sheets and comforter from the dryer, then ran back upstairs.  
  
Luke, who was already dressed, walked towards her with his arms out. "Here, give 'em to me. I'll start putting them on while you get dressed."  
  
She handed him the sheets. "Thanks." She gathered up her clothes and dressed quickly, then helped him finish the bed. "Ah, it's sorta wrinkly. We shouldn't have let it sit in the dryer all night."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "It looks fine. She's not gonna walk over to the bed and stare at it looking for imperfections."  
  
"You don't know my mother very well, do you?" Lorelai said with a laugh. "My mom will notice one little thing out of place and then she'll get all suspicious and hire a private detective to figure out what happened."  
  
"Nice of you to tell me this now. I swear, if you get me arrested then I'll. . ," Luke's voice trailed off as he smoothed out the comforter.  
  
She smirked. "Then you'll what?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
He looked up at her. "Then I'll be expecting a lot of conjugal visits from you."  
  
She let out a small laugh. "It's a deal." She smoothed out her side of the comforter and arranged the pillows, then said, "Okay, looks presentable. Ready to go?"  
  
"Yup," he said. He picked up her coat and purse off the floor and handed them to her, then grabbed her hand and led her out the door.  
  
* * *  
  
Forty-five minutes later, they pulled up to Lorelai's house. Lorelai pushed open the door as she said, "I'll probably be in the diner later." She leaned over and gave him a kiss.  
  
"You may be the only customer," Luke said as he glanced at the clock. "Everyone else will probably be boycotting me for opening so late - with Taylor leading the angry mob yelling about how opening late is a bad reflection on the town."  
  
Lorelai brought her lips close to his and said softly, "Well, just explain to Taylor that your girlfriend kept you up all night, and that you were too physically exhausted to get up on time. He'll completely understand." She leaned in and kissed him.  
  
Luke smiled through the kiss. "Yeah, I'm sure he'll love that. Then he'll probably go into some crazy list of reasons why premarital sex is also a bad reflection on the town or something."  
  
"Well, it technically wasn't in this town, so it should all work out," Lorelai said. She stepped out of the truck and smiled. "Bye." She slammed the door and watched him pull away before she walked up to the porch.  
  
She pushed the door open and walked inside, and heard voices in the kitchen. "Rory?" Lorelai called. "I'm home." Lorelai took off her coat and walked toward the kitchen. "Hey, who else is - " She stopped as she saw Rory talking to Jess near the back door.  
  
"Hey Mom," Rory said.  
  
"Hey hon," Lorelai said, folding her arms across her chest. She pursed her lips and nodded, "Jess."  
  
Jess nodded toward her uncomfortably, then turned to Rory. "I better go."  
  
Rory glanced quickly from Lorelai to Jess before she said, "Okay."  
  
"And thanks for. . ." Jess held up the book he was holding. He nodded to her before he slipped out the backdoor.  
  
Rory turned to Lorelai and gestured to the coffeepot. "I just made coffee. You look like you need some." She sat down at the table, where her own cup of coffee was sitting next to a bowl of cereal.  
  
Lorelai walked nonchalantly over to the coffeepot and poured herself a cup, then sat down and stared at Rory questioningly.  
  
Rory ate a spoonful of cereal before she raised her eyebrows and said, "What?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know," Lorelai said, shrugging. "A mother comes home at nine in the morning and finds her teenage daughter, who had the whole house to herself for the entire night, talking to a guy in the kitchen. A little background information might be necessary to make that an acceptable scenario. Fill it in please."  
  
"Mom, nothing happened," Rory said with a small laugh.  
  
Lorelai raised her hands innocently. "I didn't say that it did. I just need you to fill in the blanks."  
  
Rory took a sip of coffee. "He called me this morning and asked if I had Nine Stories, and I said yes."  
  
"Nine stories?" Lorelai asked suspiciously. "He only left with one book."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "Nine Stories is the name of the book, Mom. It's a collection of short stories."  
  
"Oh," Lorelai said, taking a sip of coffee. "Go on."  
  
"He asked if he could borrow it and I said yes," Rory continued. "Then he came over and picked it up. He was only here for like three minutes before you got here. That's it."  
  
"He had the sudden urge to read first thing in the morning?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Urges to read strike people at the oddest of times," Rory said knowingly.  
  
Lorelai nodded and sipped her coffee. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Rory eat her cereal. After a few minutes, Lorelai asked, "Rory, do wanna go out with Jess?"  
  
Rory almost choked on her cereal. She coughed a few times and exclaimed, "What?"  
  
Lorelai put her hand on Rory's arm. "Don't get mad. I am not asking this to invade your privacy or anything, I promise you. And I'm not gonna judge you or comment or say anything about it. I just really need to know."  
  
The seriousness in Lorelai's voice encouraged Rory to answer the question instead of brushing it off as nosiness. "No, I don't want to go out with Jess, we're just friends," Rory insisted.  
  
"You're sure?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure," Rory said. "I mean, things with Dean haven't exactly been great lately, but it's not because I want to go out with Jess."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Do you think Jess wants to go out with you?"  
  
Rory let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know, Mom. What's this about?"  
  
Lorelai paused a moment. "Rory, Luke and I are going out."  
  
"You're kidding," Rory said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Rory, listen to me," Lorelai said sternly. "Luke and I are going out - that means that you and Jess probably shouldn't at the same time. . . understand what I mean?"  
  
Rory narrowed her eyes. "Why does it mean - ," She paused for a moment. "Oh, I get it."  
  
"Yeah, see the problem there?" Lorelai asked, raising her eyebrows. "It'd be a little weird." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "So I'm asking you if you wanna go out with Jess because. . . even though I don't want you to go out with him, if you want. . ." She took another deep breath. "Well, your happiness means more to me than mine, and I just. . .if you think that's something you want, then I'll have to. . ." Lorelai shrugged uncomfortably.  
  
Rory looked down at her cereal and said quietly, "You would stop going out with Luke so I could go out with Jess?" She brought her gaze up to meet her mom's.  
  
Lorelai swallowed hard. "Um, if that's what would make you happy. . .then yes." Lorelai bit her bottom lip uncomfortably as a sudden feeling of heartache washed over her.  
  
Rory stared at her mom for a minute. She suddenly stood up and walked over to Lorelai and hugged her. "I love you."  
  
Lorelai stood up and hugged her back. "Uh, I love you too." She paused and asked, "Um. . .does that mean that you. . ." her voice trailed off. Lorelai suddenly felt sick as she realized that her relationship with Luke might soon be over.  
  
Rory pulled back from the hug and shook her head. "No, it doesn't mean anything. It means that. . .I love you. It means that, I know how happy you are with Luke - and you were gonna give that up so I could be with Jess even though you don't like him. I just. . .I don't even know what to say to that." She hugged Lorelai again.  
  
Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief and felt the knot in her stomach disappear as she hugged Rory.  
  
Rory pulled away and there was an appreciative smile on her face. "Thank you."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "That's what moms do."  
  
"No, there are a lot of moms who wouldn't even consider doing that," Rory said. She walked back over to her chair and sat down.  
  
"Okay, that's what moms who care about their children's happiness more than anything in the world do," Lorelai corrected herself. She sat back down and leaned toward Rory. "So you're one hundred percent sure about all this?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. I don't see Jess like that - he's just a friend. I was actually thinking that he and Paris might get along well."  
  
Lorelai let out a small laugh. "Paris? Uh, Paris from school, Paris?"  
  
"Yeah," Rory said. "You don't think so?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. I guess they both like to read - that's a starting point." She took a sip of coffee. "But remember what happened last time you played matchmaker?"  
  
Rory grimaced. "Oh yeah. I guess I'll put that plan on the back burner so I can develop those skills." She paused a moment and gave her mom a sly smile. "So, uh, how was your date?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and raised her eyebrows. "It was . . .pretty incredible. He wore a suit."  
  
Rory gasped. "No way!"  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Yes! And he shaved."  
  
"Wow," Rory said. "I hope you took pictures of that."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I'll remember to next time. And we went to this really nice fancy restaurant, then afterwards, I gave him a tour of your grandparents' house, and we - "  
  
Rory held up her hand. "Stop there."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Stopping immediately."  
  
"Thank you," Rory said gratefully.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Rory and Lorelai walked into Luke's slightly after seven. As Rory sat down at a table, Lorelai walked up to Luke at the counter. "Hey," Lorelai said, placing her hand on his arm.  
  
Luke looked up from his order pad and smiled. "Hey."  
  
Lorelai glanced around at the other customers. "So I see they haven't boycotted you."  
  
Luke sighed. "No, but Taylor and a group of his followers were waiting impatiently for me to open up while complaining about how late I was. I then explained to them that as the owner of said diner, I reserve the right to open whenever I want and if they don't like it, they could go to Teriyaki Joe's for breakfast," Luke said pointedly.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Nice. And what did Taylor say?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know, he was yammering about something but I tuned him out."  
  
"Yeah, I think that's what everyone does," Lorelai said. She glanced over at Rory, then turned to Luke and said, "Oh, we'll have burgers and fries. With coffee."  
  
He rolled his eyes and scribbled something on his pad. "Coming up."  
  
She smiled. "Thank you." She turned around and walked over to sit with Rory. She hung up her purse and jacket on the back of her chair.  
  
Rory glanced around the diner as she tapped her fingers casually on the table. She turned back to Lorelai. "Oh hey, can I use your cell phone?"  
  
"Not in here," Luke said sternly as he arrived at the table with their coffee. He pointed to the sign. "It's up there in plain English, and for people who can't read, there's even a picture."  
  
Lorelai pouted up at him. "Aw, come on Luke. Don't we get special treatment?"  
  
Luke pointed toward the diner door. "Outside."  
  
Lorelai stuck her tongue out at him. "Meanie." As Luke turned around and walked back to the counter, Lorelai reached into her purse to pull out her cell phone. When she couldn't feel it, she peaked inside. "Huh."  
  
"What is it?" Rory asked.  
  
"It's not in here," Lorelai said. She reached behind her and patted the pockets of her jacket. "Huh. That's funny. I don't think I've used it since - " She stopped talking and her eyes widened. She gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh no, I didn't," she mumbled.  
  
"What's wrong? When did you last use it?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai grimaced. "At your Grandma's house last night."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 10  
  
* * *  
  
Rory gasped. "You left it at Grandma's house? Are you sure?"  
  
Lorelai slowly nodded.  
  
Rory took a deep breath. "Okay, well, let's think for a minute. Are they home yet?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know." She put her hand on her forehead. "Oh God, when did she say she was coming back? Did she say Saturday or Sunday?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "I don't know, you never told me what she said. Mom, you have to get it back before they find it."  
  
"I know, I know." Lorelai exhaled loudly. "Okay, we have to go there and get it. I'll call and see if they're home, and if they are, then we have a forty-five minute car ride to think up a really good cover story and devise a plan to get it back." Lorelai stood up and walked over to the counter. "Luke!" she called loudly. "Luke!"  
  
Luke walked out of the kitchen carrying two plates. "Calm down, your food's right here," he grumbled.  
  
"Luke, I left my cell phone on the nightstand!" Lorelai said frantically.  
  
"What? What are you talking about?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.  
  
"The nightstand!" Lorelai repeated. "After you called Jess, I put my phone on the nightstand!"  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "At your parents' house? It's still there?"  
  
Lorelai nodded quickly. "Yes! It's still there!"  
  
Luke sighed loudly and put the plates down. "Dammit! See, this is why cell phones should be permanently banned from society. They cause nothing but trouble!" he said angrily, slapping his hand on the counter.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Hey, don't blame the poor cell phone. It's my fault, not his." She rushed behind the counter. "I need to go get it, but I have to call and see if my parents are home." She picked up the phone off the wall and started dialing. "Can I use this phone?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, go right ahead." He leaned against the counter and watched her.  
  
She smiled and brushed her fingertips against his cheek. "Thanks." She brought the phone to her ear and twirled her fingers around the phone cord as she listened nervously to the ringing on the other end. When she got the answering machine, she hung it up and said, "They're not home. I'm gonna go get it."  
  
"Do you want me to drive you?" Luke offered.  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Nah, I'll just take Rory." She walked over to the table and said, "Okay, they're not home."  
  
"So we're gonna go get it?" Rory asked.  
  
"Yup, right now," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory stood up and put on her coat. Lorelai took a sip of her coffee, then pulled on her own coat as Luke walked over with two take-out cups. "Here," Luke said, handing them to Rory.  
  
"Thanks Luke," Rory said, taking a sip from one.  
  
Lorelai smiled as she zipped up her coat. "You take such good care of us."  
  
He shrugged. "Someone's got to."  
  
She kissed him on the cheek. Her eyes glanced past him toward the counter and her gaze landed on the two burgers. She frowned. "Ah, sorry about the burgers. Don't let them go to waste. Just wrap 'em up, we'll pick them up on the way home."  
  
He waved her off. "It's fine, I'll just make new ones when you get back."  
  
She smiled. "Okay. I'll call you on the way home so you know if the mission was successful."  
  
Luke nodded. "Okay, good."  
  
Lorelai kissed him quickly, then walked toward the door, calling, "Bye" over her shoulder.  
  
"Bye Luke," Rory said, following behind Lorelai.  
  
"Bye," he replied.  
  
* * *  
  
Lorelai and Rory had to first walk to their house to pick up the Jeep, then Lorelai drove them quickly to Hartford. As they sped down the highway, Rory said, "Mom, slow down. It'll take us even longer to get there if we get pulled over for speeding."  
  
Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me, have you seen me flirt? I'm the master."  
  
"Yeah, well, what if it's a woman cop?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Well, uh, there's still a fifty-fifty chance that flirting would work."  
  
"Yes, but there's also only a fifty-fifty chance that it would work with the guy, too," Rory pointed out.  
  
"True," Lorelai agreed. "But besides, it's common knowledge that you're technically allowed to go like five miles over the speed limit anyway, and I'm only going five miles over that, so I'm pretty sure that it's not really speeding."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Whatever you say."  
  
A short while later, Lorelai turned down the street of her parents' house and approached the mansion slowly. As they inched closer to the house, Lorelai mumbled, "Please don't be home, please don't be home." As they pulled up to the gate opening, both of them leaned their heads forward against the windshield to peek at the u-shaped driveway.  
  
When they saw that it was empty, Lorelai pulled into the driveway. The house was darkened except for the light on the porch and a dim light shining from inside the front hallway. Lorelai parked the car right next to the door. "Okay, you stay here, I'll be five seconds."  
  
"Okay, hurry up," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai ran to the front door and unlocked it. She ran up the steps and rushed down the hallway to her old bedroom. She pushed open the door, flipped the light on, and her eyes went directly to the nightstand. There it was, her cell phone, lying there innocently. She ran over and grabbed it and shoved it into her jacket pocket. She walked over to the door and gave a final glance around the room before she turned the light out. She pulled the door shut behind her and ran down the hallway, down the steps, and out the front door.  
  
Lorelai walked quickly to the car and got in. "Got it," she said. She started the car and pulled away before she could even put her seat belt on, wanting to get away from the area as quickly as possible. She drove down the street and turned the corner, then pulled over and put the car in park. She put her seat belt on, then downed the rest of her coffee, trying to salvage every drop. She tossed it in the back seat and looked at Rory's cup. "Do you have any left?" she asked hopefully.  
  
Rory handed the cup to her. "A little."  
  
"Thank you," Lorelai said gratefully. She finished Rory's coffee and threw the cup behind her, then leaned back against the seat and exhaled loudly.  
  
Rory looked at her strangely. "You okay? Everything's fine - you got the phone without anyone noticing it."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I know. I was just really worried that they'd be home or something would go wrong or I'd run upstairs and they'd be standing there by the bed waiting with guns or something."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "You watch way too much TV." She patted her on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go to Luke's."  
  
Lorelai nodded and started to pull away, then stopped. "Ooh, I have to call him." She pulled the cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the diner.  
  
"Luke's," Luke answered.  
  
"Hey, it's me," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hey. You get it all right?" Luke asked, sounding worried.  
  
"Yup, we got it," Lorelai said. "Nobody was home. We're on our way home now, and barring any severe accidents or traffic jams, we should be there in like forty minutes."  
  
"Okay," he said.  
  
"Bye." Lorelai hung up the phone and laughed. "I really gotta get him a dictionary or something so we can have longer conversations."  
  
Rory smiled. "He's definitely not much of a talker?"  
  
"Well, it fluctuates. Sometimes if he's in a ranting mood, he can ramble on and on, but usually I'm forced to whip out my psychic powers to decipher what he's thinking. I think I'm getting him to open up though," she said with a smile. She handed the cell phone to Rory. "Here."  
  
"What do want me to do with this?" Rory asked, holding it up.  
  
Lorelai pulled back onto the road. "Didn't you have to call someone?"  
  
"Oh yeah." Rory thought for a moment, then let out a small laugh. "But now I don't remember who it was."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Huh. Well, I'll drop you off at your AA meeting on the way home."  
  
Rory narrowed her eyes at her. "What?"  
  
Lorelai shook a finger at her. "Yup, memory loss is a possible indication of alcoholism, and I think that you should get help as soon as possible."  
  
Rory shook her head. "Nope, I'm pretty sure that this amnesiac-y incident was caused by the overdose of barbiturates from this afternoon."  
  
Lorelai gasped and exclaimed, "Rory! Holding out on me? I told you to tell me the next time you got a hold of the good stuff." She shook her head disappointingly.  
  
"Sorry Mom, there was only enough for me," Rory said, frowning apologetically. "Next time I'll get more." She turned on the radio as Lorelai continued driving back to Stars Hollow.  
  
* * *  
  
Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner a few minutes before nine. Sookie and Jackson sat at the counter talking to Luke, and there were two other customers sitting at a table.  
  
"Hey guys," Lorelai said as she and Rory walked up to the counter.  
  
Luke nodded toward her as Sookie and Jackson turned around. "Hey honey," Sookie said.  
  
As Rory sat down next to Jackson, Lorelai leaned over the counter and pecked Luke on the cheek. "Hey."  
  
"Hey. I'll make your burgers," Luke said. He turned and walked into the kitchen.  
  
When he was out of site, Sookie giggled and smacked Lorelai playfully on the arm. "Look at you being all lovey-dovey with the diner man."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Stop it." She glanced down at the counter shyly.  
  
"Aww, you're blushing." Sookie smiled. "So where were you guys? I called you a little awhile ago, you weren't home."  
  
Lorelai looked up and exhaled loudly. "Oh God, we had to run to my parents' house because last night me and - ," She paused and glanced at Jackson, realizing that Luke probably didn't want everybody to know what happened. She cleared her throat and said, "Uh, because I left something there. Um, excuse us." Lorelai grabbed Sookie's arm and pulled her over to the farthest table.  
  
Sookie raised her eyebrows as she sat down. "What's up, honey?"  
  
Lorelai leaned forward and whispered, "Last night. . .we finally. . ." she let her voice trail off, figuring that Sookie would understand what she meant.  
  
Sookie stared at her with a questioning look. "You finally. . ."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Me and Luke, Sookie. Think - me and Luke."  
  
Sookie sat back in her chair and thought for a moment. She suddenly gasped. "No you didn't!" she yelled.  
  
Lorelai smacked her on the arm. "Shh!" She glanced at the other customers, including Jackson and Rory, who were all staring at them. "We're fine, turn around," Lorelai told them. She leaned back toward Sookie and said quietly, "Yes, we did."  
  
Sookie giggled excitedly. "So, how was it? Wait, where was it?"  
  
Lorelai's eyes kept glancing at the other people in the room, hoping no one could hear. "It was at my parents' house."  
  
Sookie's eyes widened. "Your parents' house? They're home from vacation?" She gasped and made a face. "They were in the house?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, they're not back from Florida yet. I have a key."  
  
Sookie let out a small laugh. "So you broke into your parents house to have sex?"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "No! I didn't break in, I had a key." Lorelai paused. She stared up at the ceiling and sighed. "And it wasn't just sex, Sookie. Well, not the first few times, at least. We took it slow and it was romantic and sensual and he was so gentle. . ." Lorelai smiled and stared into space as she thought about it. "It was incredible."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Sounds like it was worth the wait." She suddenly got a confused look in her eye. She leaned forward and whispered, "Wait - did you say 'the first few times'?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Mmhmm. We stayed the night at the house."  
  
Sookie's jaw dropped open. "The entire night? But when are your parents coming home?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, but the thing - ." She stopped talking as she saw Luke walk out of the kitchen with her food. He gestured the plate towards her. "Wait a sec," Lorelai told Sookie.  
  
Lorelai walked up to the counter. "Thanks Luke. I gotta talk to Sookie for a few more minutes." She picked up her plate and walked back to the table. As she sat down, she picked up a French fry and took a bite. She continued, "But the thing is that last night, I left my cell phone in the bedroom, and I didn't realize it until a few hours ago, so I had to drive back there and get it before they came home."  
  
Sookie's eyes widened. "Ooh. But they weren't home yet?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, thank God." She picked up her burger and took a bite.  
  
Sookie nodded. "Good, good." She glanced over at the counter at Luke talking to Jackson and Rory. She looked back to Lorelai and smirked. "Cap on?"  
  
Lorelai finished chewing and narrowed her eyes. "What?"  
  
She leaned closer and said quietly, "Did he leave his baseball cap on?"  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Sookie!"  
  
Sookie smiled. "What? I've just always wondered." She took a couple of fries from Lorelai's plate.  
  
Lorelai smiled and shook her head slightly. "No, he didn't even wear it. We had a fancy date - no plaid, no jeans, no hat, no scruffy beard."  
  
"Wow," Sookie said. "He cleans up nice?"  
  
"Very nice," Lorelai said with a smile. "We went to dinner in Hartford and we were near my parents' house, so I asked him if he wanted to see it and then I gave him a tour and. . .you know the rest."  
  
Sookie smiled and nodded. "Sounds great." She squeezed Lorelai's arm. "I'm happy for you, honey."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks."  
  
Sookie glanced over at the counter. "I better go. Jackson looks tired."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Don't tell Jackson anything, okay? I highly doubt that Luke wants the story of our sex life to be passed around the town."  
  
Sookie stood up and nodded. "Got it. My lips are sealed."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks." Lorelai picked up her plate and stood up, and she and Sookie walked back to the counter. Lorelai sat down on a stool and continued eating.  
  
"You ready?" Sookie asked, rubbing Jackson's back.  
  
"Yup, all set," he said. "Bye guys." He stood up and clasped Sookie's hand as they walked toward the door.  
  
"Night," Sookie said.  
  
Sookie and Jackson walked out of the diner as Rory and Lorelai continued eating.  
  
* * *  
  
Early the next afternoon, Lorelai was sprawled on the couch watching television when the phone rang. She picked up the remote and muted the TV, then reached for the cordless phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Lorelai? It's your mother."  
  
Lorelai quickly sat up on the couch. "Mom, hi. Uh, are you home?"  
  
"Yes, we got in early this morning," Emily replied.  
  
"Good, good," Lorelai replied. "Uh, so, how was your trip?"  
  
"It was lovely. Though the last few days we got a lot of rain, so we didn't get to go out and do much."  
  
"Oh, sorry to hear," Lorelai said.  
  
"It's fine, we had plenty of time in the beginning of the week to be outside," Emily said. "Listen, I was wondering if you and Rory would like to come over for an early dinner. We haven't seen you girls in so long."  
  
"Oh, today?" Lorelai asked, surprised. "I'm not really. . .I think we have to. . ." She glanced around the room looking for an excuse, but couldn't think of one. She sighed quietly. "Yes, that'd be nice."  
  
"Lovely, see you around five," Emily said. "Goodbye."  
  
"Bye Mom." Lorelai hung up the phone and growled into the air. She slapped her forehead. "Have a list of excuses ready next time," she muttered. She stood up and wandered to Rory's bedroom. She knocked on the door.  
  
"Come in," Rory called from inside.  
  
Lorelai pushed open the door and walked inside. Rory lay on her bed reading, and sat up as Lorelai entered. "What's up?"  
  
Lorelai shoved her hands into her jeans' pockets. "Uh, Grandma invited us over for an early dinner."  
  
"They're home? When did they come home?" Rory asked.  
  
"Uh, this morning," Lorelai replied, rocking on her heels. "So, we're gonna leave here around 4:15."  
  
"Okay," Rory said, going back to her book.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Lorelai and Rory stood in front of Emily and Richard's house. "Now remember, don't -," Lorelai started.  
  
Rory held up her hand. "Mom, you told me a hundred times on the way here. I won't mention you or Luke or this house or the cell phone or anything."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay, thank you." She rang the doorbell.  
  
Emily pulled the door open and grinned. "There're my girls."  
  
"Hi Mom," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hey Grandma," Rory said, stepping inside. Rory gave Emily a hug, then both girls hung up their coats.  
  
Emily led them to the dining room, where Richard was already seated at the table. He stood up and smiled as they entered the room. "Hello girls. Sit, sit," he said, gesturing to the chairs.  
  
"Hey Grandpa," Rory said, giving him a quick hug.  
  
"How's it going, Dad?" Lorelai asked as she sat down. "Heard you had a nice trip."  
  
"Yes, it was quite enjoyable," Richard said, sitting back down.  
  
As Rory sat down across from Lorelai, Emily excused herself, and returned a moment later with two gift boxes. "We picked up some things on our trip that we thought you girls would enjoy," Emily said. She handed the smaller box to Lorelai and placed the larger one next to Rory. Emily took her seat and said, "Go on, open them."  
  
"Grandma, Grandpa, you didn't have to do this," Rory said.  
  
"Shush you," Lorelai said, opening her box. She reached inside and pulled out something wrapped in tissue paper. She unwrapped it to find a small glass swan. She eyed it curiously. "Huh."  
  
"You know, that is a handcrafted piece. Only fifty of those particular swans were made. We found it in a lovely antique store in North Carolina," Emily said.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Huh."  
  
"Just something to put on a shelf or your mantle. You know, you need more decorative items in that living room of yours," Emily said knowingly.  
  
Lorelai turned the figurine around in her hand. "Wow. This is. . . great. This is great. Thank you." She forced a smile, then brought her gaze to Rory, who was staring at her with an amused look. Lorelai narrowed her eyes as she nodded toward her. "Go on, open yours."  
  
Rory smiled to herself as she opened up her box. She reached inside and pulled out a set of rectangular crystal bookends. "Wow, these are heavy," Rory commented.  
  
"Your grandfather tells me you've got quite the book collection, but that it needs a bit of tidying up," Emily said.  
  
"Yes, it could definitely use some structure," Richard added.  
  
"Yeah, it's kinda cluttered," Rory said, smiling. "These are great, thank you."  
  
"Yeah, good gifts, thanks," Lorelai added, eyeing her swan skeptically.  
  
"You really didn't have to," Rory said as she placed her gift back in the box.  
  
"Nonsense," Emily replied with a smile. "We love picking out presents for our girls, don't we Richard?"  
  
Richard smiled and nodded as the maid brought out their plates.  
  
* * *  
  
They finished up their dinner and had walked into the living room when Emily said, "Richard, didn't you want to show Rory some of the books you picked up in Florida?"  
  
"Oh, yes, I did," Richard said. He turned to Rory. "We found this bookstore that had been built in 1933 by the owner's great-great-grandfather. Came across some wonderful finds. Care to take a look?"  
  
"Absolutely," Rory said. She followed him out of the room and down the hall to the study.  
  
Emily turned to Lorelai and gestured for her to sit down. Lorelai sat down and crossed her legs, and started tapping her fingers on the arm of the chair.  
  
Emily sat down on the sofa across from her. "So, you know our neighbor Jacob Kilner? The lawyer?" Emily asked.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I've known him since I was little. Barbara, too."  
  
"Yes, Jacob and Barbara have been friends of our family for almost thirty- five years." She pursed her lips for a moment. "You see, Barbara was collecting our mail for us while we were away, and this afternoon she brought it over. She and I had tea on the back patio, and she brought me up to date on all the recent goings-on."  
  
"Sounds good, Mom," Lorelai said, nodding along.  
  
"Yes, it was lovely," Emily repeated. "Until she brought up a very interesting conversation topic."  
  
"And what was that, Mom?" Lorelai asked, examining her nails.  
  
"Well, she said that as she and Jacob went out for their daily walk early yesterday morning, they noticed a strange truck parked in front of our house."  
  
Lorelai froze. As she slowly brought her gaze up to meet Emily's, she swallowed hard. "Oh yeah?"  
  
"Mmhmm," Emily said. "And it was covered in frost, as if it'd been there all night long. And they thought it was pretty strange, seeing as how we called them last week and told them that no one would be here until Sunday."  
  
"Yeah, that is strange," Lorelai agreed quickly, glancing at the floor nervously.  
  
"Yes, it is. And so they kept an eye on the house that morning, you know, just to make sure everything was okay." She paused. "And, you know, they're both positive that they saw you and a man came out an hour later and get into that truck," Emily said. She pressed her lips together tightly and her face started to redden. "But you probably don't know anything about that, do you, Lorelai?"  
  
Lorelai gasped. "What? No!" She shook her head and stammered, "That's not. . .oh. . they. . .uh, they were probably just seeing things. You know, they're pretty old, Mom."  
  
Emily stood up. "Don't lie to me, Lorelai! They know what you look like. They wouldn't just make up something like that. Now what were you doing here?"  
  
Lorelai stood up. "Mom, it's no big deal, calm down."  
  
"I will not calm down until you explain why you were in my house when we were not home!" Emily said angrily. "That key is for emergencies only!"  
  
Lorelai sat back down and covered her face with her hands, shaking her head and sighing loudly.  
  
"Well, explain yourself, Lorelai," Emily said, folding her arms across her chest.  
  
Lorelai lifted her head up and sighed deeply. "Mom, I'm sorry. It was just . . . we were in town . . . and it was late, and you know how some people get when it's late at night - they get pretty tired, and so we needed to sleep somewhere nearby because that's what people do when they're. . . tired. You know, so they don't cause accidents on the road. It was all a matter of public safety."  
  
Emily shook her head in disbelief. "I don't believe you. This is what you do when your parents go away - you break into their house and parade men over like it's some sort of brothel?" she asked loudly.  
  
Lorelai stood back up. "No, I do not parade men over, it was just one man!"  
  
"That doesn't make it any less wrong, Lorelai!" Emily said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"I know, but - ," Lorelai started.  
  
"This house is not a Motel 6!" Emily yelled, interrupting her.  
  
"I know that!" Lorelai yelled, throwing her hands up in frustration. "I know I had no right to be here. I'm sorry, okay? I apologized! What else do you want me to do?"  
  
"I want you to realize that what you did is wrong and that you're setting a bad example for Rory!" Emily replied sternly.  
  
Lorelai scoffed loudly. "How do you figure that?"  
  
Emily let out a small laugh. "Honestly, Lorelai - you think that Rory doesn't know what's going on when you don't come home at night? Do you think that she figures you're at church playing bingo instead of out gallivanting around with men all night?"  
  
"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Lorelai yelled.  
  
"And you have no right to use my house to entertain men!" Emily retorted.  
  
"I know, Mother!" Lorelai said loudly. She collapsed into her chair and muttered, "God, I heard you. It won't happen again."  
  
"That's right, it won't happen again. Give me back the key," Emily said.  
  
Lorelai looked up at her. "You want it back?"  
  
"Yes, you can't be trusted with it," Emily said.  
  
Lorelai huffed. "Fine." She walked over to the door and pulled her keys out of her coat pocket. She slipped her parents' house key off the ring and walked back to the living room. Lorelai placed the key on the coffee table. "There."  
  
Emily picked it up and examined it closely.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yes Mother, it's yours. But it doesn't matter because I already passed out copies to all of my clientele."  
  
Emily glared at her. "I'm glad you think this is so funny, Lorelai."  
  
"I don't think this is funny, Mom!" Lorelai shot back as she stood up. "It's not funny - it's embarrassing! And right now I wish I could get into a Delorean with Christopher Lloyd and go back in time so that I can remember to hide the truck under some branches and check for neighbors before I walk out of the house in the morning, but I can't! So instead, I'm trying to suck it up and deal with it as best I can!" Lorelai's rant left her out of breath and her face was red with both anger and embarrassment.  
  
Emily stared at her and shook her head. "I can't believe you, Lorelai. So you're saying that if you were given the chance to do this all over again, you would still do it?"  
  
"Yes, I probably would!" Lorelai yelled.  
  
Emily shook her head. "Unbelievable. That's disgraceful, Lorelai," Emily said. "You desperately need to rethink your priorities."  
  
Lorelai took a few deep breaths and sat back down. She looked up at Emily and said, "Don't you think you're overreacting just a bit?"  
  
Emily raised her eyebrows. "Oh, you think I'm overreacting? So tell me - how would you react if someday Rory did something like this?"  
  
Lorelai didn't say anything. She glanced down at the floor and sighed.  
  
"See?" Emily said haughtily. "You're more like me than you think, Lorelai."  
  
Lorelai heard Emily's heels walking out of the room. When the sound disappeared completely, she glanced around the living room and exhaled loudly.  
  
* * *  
  
A few minutes later, Lorelai and Rory climbed into the jeep. Rory immediately said, "What happened? I heard yelling."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "You did? Did my dad hear?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "I don't know. I heard shouting, but I couldn't hear what you were saying."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Ugh, I'm so stupid."  
  
"No, you're not. What happened with Grandma?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "One of the stupid neighbors told her that she saw me and Luke leaving the house yesterday morning, and then she yelled at me and took the key back, and long story short, I'm a terrible daughter."  
  
"Aw, Mom, I'm sorry," Rory said sympathetically. "When she didn't mention anything through dinner, I figured you were home free."  
  
"Yeah, me too," Lorelai said with a sigh. "But it's just like my mother to trick you into thinking one thing and then surprise you at the end by launching into the real plan. Ugh, that's that little conniving streak in her where she tries to catch people off guard and then try to make them feel like crap when they're totally unprepared for battle." With a deep sigh, Lorelai pulled out of the driveway and headed back to Stars Hollow.  
  
* * *  
  
Lorelai dropped Rory off at home, then walked to the diner. She pushed open the door and walked inside, and Luke looked at her from the counter. Noticing the dejected look on her face, he immediately said, "What's wrong?"  
  
Lorelai walked toward him slowly as Luke walked out from behind the counter. He kissed her cheek and repeated, "What's wrong?"  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Hold me." She leaned her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. She nuzzled her nose against his neck, inhaling the scent of his cologne as his hands ran up and down her back. A feeling of calm came over her as she closed her eyes and pressed her body tightly against his.  
  
After a minute of standing there silently, Luke cleared his throat. "Uh, how long do you want me to do this?" he asked quietly, glancing around at the customers.  
  
"Mmm, forever," she said softly. She kissed his neck and sighed. "Just hold me forever, Luke."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 11  
  
* * *  
  
Luke kissed her gently on her forehead and rested his cheek against her head. As they stood embracing in the center of the diner, Kirk walked up to them holding out his mug. "Luke, I've been waiting for you to - "  
  
"Get the hell away from me, Kirk," Luke hissed through clenched teeth. "Can't you see I'm busy right now?" Kirk gave an annoyed sigh and walked back to his table. After another minute of silence, Luke said, "Lorelai?"  
  
"Hmm?" she replied, her head still resting against his chest.  
  
"Are you gonna tell me what's wrong or should I just guess?" Luke asked.  
  
With a sigh, Lorelai finally pulled away and looked up at him. Luke suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his chest. Her eyes were despondent and sad, not full of life and energy like they usually were. Her lip quivered as she said, "I just don't know why I let her words affect me so much." As a single tear ran down her cheek, she quickly sniffled and brushed it away.  
  
Luke put his hands on her shoulders. "Who?"  
  
"My mother," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes. She clenched her fists. "Ugh! God, she just gets me so frustrated sometimes!"  
  
"Calm down," Luke said. He led her to the counter and sat her on a stool. He sat next to her and took her hands into his. "Just tell me what happened."  
  
Lorelai sighed. "My mom found out that we were at her house."  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "What? How?"  
  
"One of the neighbors saw us and told her," she said, making a face. "Can you believe that? Like I'm sixteen years old sneaking out of the house or something."  
  
Luke's jaw dropped open. "Wait - saw us when?" He closed his eyes briefly. "Not when we. . .oh God, please tell me it wasn't when we are on the balcony."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, when we walked out in the morning." She paused as a hint of a smile appeared on her lips. "Oh man, my mom would've had a heart attack if one of the neighbors came up to her and said, 'Oh, by the way, your daughter was doing it on your balcony last night.' I would've killed to see the look on her face."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Lorelai, back to the point. Was she really mad?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. She took my key away and she pretty much has zero respect for me because she thinks I'm some kind of prostitute." She shook her head towards the ground. "Ugh, I hate it when she gets to me, Luke. I hate it more than anything."  
  
Luke ran his hands up and down her arms. "Don't worry about it. You've fought like this before, haven't you?"  
  
Lorelai let out a small laugh. "Are you kidding? Just about every week."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Well, see? And you've made up before, so you'll make up this time too," he said. "Trust me. It'll be fine."  
  
She nodded. "I know, I know."  
  
Luke paused for a moment before he asked, "Does she know it was me?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, I don't think I mentioned your name."  
  
Luke breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Okay, good."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, so you're glad that I'm the one taking all the blame for this?"  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "No, that's not it," he said quickly. "I just don't want her to think that I'm. . . that we. . .that it was . . ." He sighed. "I don't know."  
  
"You don't want her to think that it was your idea?" Lorelai suggested.  
  
"No, I just don't want her to be mad at me before she even meets me," Luke said. "I mean, meets me as your..." He glanced down uncomfortably. "Boyfriend-type-person."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Okay, so not only are you glad that I'm the only one she's blaming, you can't even say that you're my boyfriend to my face." Lorelai shook her head and shrugged. "What, you're suddenly embarrassed to be my boyfriend?"  
  
"Lorelai," Luke said with a sigh.  
  
"No, I get it. You like me enough to sleep with me, but not enough to call yourself my boyfriend," Lorelai said. "Fine, Luke. That's just fine. I need to get outta here." She stood up and started walking toward the door.  
  
Luke reached out and caught her arm and pulled her gently back toward him. "Lorelai, you know I didn't mean anything by it."  
  
She sighed. "I'm going home, Luke." She turned around and walked out the door.  
  
Luke followed her outside. "Don't be like this, Lorelai," he said. "You're upset at your mom and you're taking it out on me for no reason."  
  
She turned around and raised her eyebrows. "Am I? Thank you, Luke. Don't know what I'd do without a man analyzing my thoughts and actions," she said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Oh, so, what - you're telling me you actually are mad at me?" Luke said, putting his hands on his chest.  
  
"Maybe I am!" she retorted.  
  
"For what?" he asked loudly. "Because I want your mom to like me? Don't you think that the fact that I want her to like me means something?"  
  
"If it means something, then why did you look away when you said the word boyfriend!" Lorelai yelled.  
  
"Maybe because I'm still getting used to the fact that after years of watching you and wishing that I was your boyfriend, I finally am!" Luke yelled back. "And maybe because I'm so happy about it that the only thing in this entire world that scares me is the idea that I might lose you!" Realizing what he'd said, and how loudly he'd said it, his eyes widened with slight embarrassment. He took a step back and looked at the ground.  
  
Lorelai blinked a few times and shook her head lightly. "What?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "Nothing," he said quickly.  
  
Lorelai groaned. "Ugh, why do you do that all the time?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and shrugged. "What the heck did I do now?"  
  
Lorelai sighed. "You always go and say something sweet when I'm totally unprepared for it! I hate that!" she said loudly.  
  
"I'm sorry! I'll warn you next time!" Luke yelled back. His face softened as he took a few deep breaths and walked toward her.  
  
They stared at each other for a moment before Lorelai smiled and shook her head slightly toward the ground. Luke wrapped his arms around her waist. She brought her own arms up around his neck and pressed her lips against his.  
  
As they broke apart, they pressed their foreheads together and smiled. "Now, are you okay?" Luke asked. "I mean, with this whole fighting with your mom thing?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, it'll be okay," she said with a sigh.  
  
"What exactly did she say?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath. "I don't know, a lot of stuff. Something about me being disgraceful and gallivanting around with men all night and being a bad mother."  
  
Luke's mouth dropped open. "What?" he said angrily. "She really said that to you?"  
  
Lorelai nodded.  
  
Luke scoffed loudly. "What kind of woman talks to her own daughter like that? What gives her the right to say any of that to you? Doesn't she know you're thirty three years old and you can run your own life and make your own damn decisions?" Luke's face was red with anger.  
  
Lorelai reached out and grabbed his hand. "Luke, calm down, it's fine."  
  
Luke shook his head in disbelief. "No, it's not fine, Lorelai," he said. "You shouldn't let her treat you like that."  
  
Lorelai looked down at the sidewalk. "Yeah, well, I don't have much choice. She's paying for Rory's school."  
  
"That still doesn't give her the right to talk down to you," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Luke, let's just forget it, okay? Please?" She kissed him on the cheek and repeated, "Please?"  
  
Luke took a deep breath. "I don't like seeing you upset."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I know, but get used to it because it happens a lot."  
  
Luke shook his head down at the ground. "It's just. . ." he sighed. "Never mind, dropping it now."  
  
"Thank you," she said.  
  
Luke checked his watch. "It's only 7:15. How about I get Caesar to cover the diner and we'll go do something?"  
  
She shrugged and shoved her hands into her pockets. "I don't really feel like going out."  
  
"Then we'll rent a movie and stay in," Luke suggested.  
  
"I don't know," Lorelai said with a shrug.  
  
Luke ran his fingers through her hair, brushing it out of her face. "Come on, I'll even buy you junk food."  
  
A small smile formed on her lips. "Lots of junk food?"  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever you want."  
  
She leaned her face close to his and lightly brushed her lips against his. She pulled back and smiled, then did it again, giggling softly as she teased him. He groaned with annoyance and pressed his lips tightly against hers.  
  
She pulled back and smiled. "I was getting there, Speedy."  
  
"Yeah, well, you take too long," he replied. "Let me go tell Caesar I'm leaving. I should probably let Jess know, too."  
  
She nodded. Luke walked into the diner as Lorelai waited outside. She glanced around, and her eyes landed on Miss Patty staring at her from the entryway of her dance studio. When Lorelai looked her way, Patty immediately rushed inside. Lorelai rolled her eyes and smiled to herself. Moments later, Luke walked out of the diner. He took her hand and entwined his fingers through hers as he led her to the video store.  
  
* * *  
  
Thirty minutes later, Luke and Lorelai walked into her house carrying bags from the video store and the market. They hung up their coats and walked into the living room, where Rory sat on the couch reading. "Hey hon," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hey Mom. Hey Luke," Rory said, glancing at the bag he was holding. "Whatcha got there?"  
  
Luke handed her the bag from the video store as Lorelai started spreading the junk food on the coffee table.  
  
Rory pulled out the movies. "Superman. Superman 2. Didn't want to complete the marathon and get the other two?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and sat down on the couch. "She wanted to get them all and watch all eight hours of them tonight, but I politely encouraged her to put the other ones back."  
  
"Politely encouraged?" Lorelai scoffed, then she frowned. "He threatened me."  
  
"Oh yeah? With what?" Rory asked.  
  
Luke smiled. "I told her I would officially cancel all future Danish Days."  
  
Rory gasped and shook her head. "You should not even joke about that Luke. You might give her a stroke."  
  
"That's what I told him, but he just doesn't care," Lorelai said, shaking her head sadly. "You gonna watch with us?"  
  
Rory glanced at the clock. "Hmm, maybe for a little while." She put her book down on the coffee table and grabbed a handful of Gummy Bears.  
  
"Mmkay. I'm gonna go change first," Lorelai said. She walked upstairs and changed from the dressy outfit she'd worn to dinner into a T-shirt and light gray sweatpants.  
  
A few minutes later, Lorelai walked downstairs and put the first video on. She sat down on the floor in front of Luke's legs. Through much of the movie, Luke stroked her hair, running his fingers through her soft curls so gently that it sent a calming sensation through Lorelai's entire body.  
  
* * *  
  
As the first video came to an end, so did Rory's viewing time. She stood up as the credits came on and said, "All right, I'm gonna go read a little before bed."  
  
She leaned down and kissed Lorelai on the cheek. "Night Mom. Night Luke."  
  
"Night hon," Lorelai said.  
  
"Night," Luke said. As Rory walked out of the living room, Lorelai stood up and walked over to the VCR. She stopped the movie and rewound it.  
  
Luke stood up and stretched out his legs. "You want a drink?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks. Water's fine," Lorelai said. Luke left the room, leaving Lorelai standing impatiently by the VCR gesturing for it to hurry up. "Come on, come on, I don't have all night. You know, more people would 'Be Kind and Rewind' if you didn't take so long to get the job done, ya know? Geez. That's probably one of the reasons why everyone's switching to DVDs." She heard the tape stop. "Aha! It's about time, thank you." She took the first tape out and put in the second.  
  
Luke had returned with their waters and was watching her from near the couch. "You know, it can't hear you," he pointed out.  
  
Surprised that he was in the room, Lorelai turned around and smiled. "Sure it can, Luke. It can hear me - and only me. I've got supernatural powers that allow me to communicate with inanimate devices. You know, sort of like Dr. Dolittle with the animals."  
  
"Oh really?" Luke nodded, pretending to be impressed. "What else can you talk to?"  
  
Lorelai walked over to him. "Well, you know, televisions, coffee makers, clocks, hair dryers, any of your basic appliances, really."  
  
Luke nodded and handed her a bottle of water. "What about toasters? If you're in the living room and you smell that your toast is burning in the kitchen, can you yell to it to pop up so the burning stops?"  
  
Lorelai thought for a moment and tapped his shoulder with her water bottle. "You know, I can't really say for sure because that scenario has never come up, but I'm gonna assume yes."  
  
"Huh," Luke said as he sat down on the couch. "That's a good power to have."  
  
Lorelai nodded and took a sip of her water, then put it on the coffee table. She sat down on the couch, placed one of the throw pillows on Luke's lap, then rested her head on it.  
  
"Comfy?" he asked with a laugh.  
  
"Yes, thanks," she replied, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Shh, it's starting."  
  
Halfway through the movie, Luke moved his hand from Lorelai's head, where it had been stroking her hair again, to her back. He ran his fingers up and down her spine. Lorelai closed her eyes to concentrate on the gentle motions that were sending chills through her body. Soon, Luke's hand was no longer on the outside of her shirt, but was directly against her back.  
  
His warm hand glided over her smooth skin, massaging it gently. Her entire body seemed to relax at his touch, which was much more gentle than his strong hands looked like they could be. His fingers pulled the bottom of her shirt up so that her back was exposed to the cool air in the room, and Lorelai shivered. He started massaging her back with both hands. Seconds later, his fingers moved to the clasp of her bra. He undid it and pushed the two sides of the bra out of the way, enabling him to massage her whole back without interference. As his hands moved around in gentle circular motions, Lorelai let out soft moans of approval.  
  
After a few minutes, Luke said quietly, "Lorelai?"  
  
Her eyes still closed, she muttered, "Yeah?"  
  
"Are you watching the movie?" he asked.  
  
She opened her eyes. "Nope. Are you?"  
  
"No," he replied. "I'm watching you."  
  
Lorelai smiled to herself. "Am I really that entertaining?"  
  
"You're definitely not bad for the eyes," he said.  
  
Lorelai reached to the coffee table and fumbled for the remote. She turned the television off, then adjusted herself on his lap so that she was on her back staring up at him. He lifted up her shirt slightly and put his hands on her stomach, gliding them over her soft skin. She smiled and said, "Man, you always need to be touching something, don't you?"  
  
He raised his eyebrows and smirked. "What - you want me to stop touching you?"  
  
She shook her head. "If I wanted you to stop touching me I would've slapped your hands away hours ago."  
  
"Okay, then stop complaining," he said, continuing to run his hands over her body.  
  
Lorelai shrugged casually. "I'm not complaining." She closed her eyes and relaxed. "Mmm, how come you're so gentle?"  
  
"What?"  
  
She opened her eyes and smiled. "You know, you're so gruff on the outside, but you're sweet and gentle on the inside. You know, like a. . .Tootsie Roll pop or something."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Please don't compare me to junk food."  
  
She smiled. "Fine, you're like a. . . celery stick with low-fat peanut butter inside."  
  
"That's better," he said.  
  
"So, why aren't you just sweet all the time?" Lorelai asked. "Why do you have this Jekyll and Hyde thing going on?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "That's how guys are."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Not all guys. Chris and Max weren't like that," she said. Realizing what she said, she grimaced. She bit her lip nervously, hoping Luke wouldn't feel uncomfortable with the mention of their names.  
  
Luke swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Yeah, well, I'm sitting here with you and they're not, so what does that say?"  
  
A small smile fell on Lorelai's lips. "It says that the Jekyll/Hyde thing is obviously working."  
  
Luke nodded. "There you go."  
  
Lorelai leaned up to kiss him, then rested her head back down on the pillow. She stared up at him while thoughts started running through her mind. Thoughts about her past relationships, thoughts about Chris and Max, thoughts about Luke, thoughts about what her mother had said, thoughts about how she was feeling inside.  
  
As she lay there thinking and staring up at Luke, she finally realized why this relationship was so different from all her others, and Lorelai felt a knot in her stomach. She stared up at him and swallowed hard. Her breathing increased as she suddenly felt terrified of what she was about to do - but she knew she had to do it. She was afraid of the consequences, but she knew if she didn't do it right now, she might never get the courage to do it again.  
  
Lorelai suddenly sat up. Luke removed his hands from her body and watched her as she removed the pillow from his lap and tossed it on the floor. She crawled onto his lap, facing him as she straddled his legs by placing a knee on either side of them. She kissed him passionately for several seconds before she slowly pulled her lips away from his. She whispered, "Luke?"  
  
He looked at her curiously. "What?"  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath to help calm her nerves. She leaned forward so that their faces were just inches apart. With her eyes staring directly into his, she whispered, "I'm in love with you."  
  
As the words came out of her mouth, goosebumps immediately covered Lorelai's body. She had finally said it, the words that she had wanted to say to someone for so long but had never had the actual feelings to accompany them - until now.  
  
Luke's eyes widened with surprise and a smile quickly appeared on his lips. "Me too," he said softly. "I'm in love with you, too."  
  
As Lorelai let out a short sigh of relief, Luke put his hands on her face and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back eagerly as she felt tears forming in her eyes. As both the kiss and the emotions inside of her intensified, she started sobbing and had to break away from him.  
  
She laughed through her tears and used her sleeve to wipe them away. She shook her head slightly. "God, I never imagined that those words could be so powerful." She sniffled a few times and smiled at him, her bottom lip quivering as more tears fell. He pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She hugged him back and rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
A few seconds later, he asked, "You okay?"  
  
She nodded and smiled. She slid off of his lap and onto the cushion next to him. He turned his body so that he was leaning against the arm of the couch and brought his legs up to stretch out in front of him. She lay the same way next to him, resting her head against his chest as his arms surrounded her. As he ran his hands up and down her arm, her hand glided over his chest and stomach. He kissed her head, deeply inhaling the scent of her shampoo before pulling back and smiling to himself.  
  
They lay that way for several minutes before Lorelai said, "Luke?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
She turned her head to look up at him. "Do you wanna. . . go upstairs?"  
  
A look of uncertainty washed over Luke's face as he glanced back toward Rory's bedroom. "I don't know if we - "  
  
"She's asleep, Luke," Lorelai assured him.  
  
He sighed softly and paused a moment, staring down at her. "Are you sure?"  
  
She smiled and nodded. She stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him up off the couch. She led him up to her bedroom and locked the door.  
  
* * *  
  
The covers pulled up to their chests, which were moving up and down quickly as they tried to catch their breaths, they lay staring up at the ceiling. Luke's arm was draped over her shoulder as Lorelai's head rested against his chest. They lay there for a few minutes in silence before Lorelai looked up at him and said quietly, "Luke?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"I love you."  
  
He smiled and kissed her. "I love you, too."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 12  
  
* * *  
  
Luke glanced over at the nightstand and said, "It's past midnight."  
  
She turned to look at the clock. "Yes, you're right." She turned back to him and smiled. "Glad to see you're getting your money's worth with those telling-time classes."  
  
He rolled his eyes. "I believe that was me insinuating that I should be going."  
  
"So you weren't trying to impress me with your skills?" she asked as she rolled off of him.  
  
"No, I - ," he started. He suddenly stopped talking as Lorelai got up off the bed and walked over to the closet. Luke sat up and watched her closely, his eyes wandering over the curves of her body as she pulled out her robe.  
  
She turned around as she pulled it on. She saw him staring at her with wide eyes and she let out a small laugh. She pulled the belt tight around her and folded her arms across her chest. "Take a picture, it lasts longer."  
  
"Trust me, the thought's crossed my mind," he said.  
  
She smirked as she picked up his pile of clothes from the floor and tossed it next to him on the bed. "Here. Stop your drooling and get dressed." She walked over to her vanity and picked up a ponytail holder. She pulled her hair into a disheveled bun, then walked over and leaned against the door, watching him as he got dressed.  
  
A few minutes later, he pulled on his baseball cap and walked over to her. He placed one hand against the door and pressed his lips gently against hers. She brought her hands up to his face and ran them over the stubble on his cheeks as they kissed. As he finally pulled away, she unlocked the door and pulled it open. They walked quietly down the steps and over to the front entryway.  
  
He pulled on his coat as she opened the front door, shivering as the cold air poured in. He finished buttoning his coat and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Bye," he said.  
  
"Bye," she replied, smiling. He stepped onto the porch and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets before walking down the front steps and across the yard.  
  
Lorelai shut the door and rushed into Rory's room. She lay down on the bed next to her and started tapping her on the shoulder. "Rory!" she said in a loud whisper. "Rory, wake up!"  
  
Rory groaned. "What do you want?"  
  
"He told me he loves me!" Lorelai whispered excitedly.  
  
Rory rolled over and mumbled, "What?"  
  
"He told me he loves me!" Lorelai repeated louder.  
  
With her eyes half closed, Rory smiled. "Aw, that's so great, Mom."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, after I told him."  
  
Rory's eyes opened all the way. "What?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I said it to him first."  
  
Rory mouth dropped open with surprise. "Oh my God! Mom, that's - wow." She hugged Lorelai as best she could from her sleeping position. "That's great. I'm happy for you."  
  
Lorelai giggled excitedly. "Thanks. Night." She kissed Rory's cheek before she pushed herself off the bed and went back up to her room.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai and Rory rushed into the diner trying to escape the pouring rain outside. After dropping their umbrellas by the door, they looked around and saw Sookie sitting at a table sipping coffee. She looked up and waved, then gestured for them to join her. They walked over to her table.  
  
"Hey Sook," Lorelai said, sliding into a chair. "How's it going?"  
  
"Hey Sookie," Rory said, sitting down and putting her backpack on the floor next to her.  
  
"Morning," Sookie said. "You guys are soaked. Did you walk here?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, it wasn't raining this hard when we left the house, but in the next 2 minutes it started downpouring."  
  
"Crazy weather," Sookie muttered. She put a hand on Lorelai's arm and gave her a concerned look. "Hey, are things okay with you and . . . your grumpy half?"  
  
Lorelai looked at her questioningly. "Things are great. Why?"  
  
"Uh, well, I kinda heard that there was some yelling going on last night out in front here," Sookie said, gesturing out the window.  
  
Rory looked at her mom, surprised. "What? Really?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head slightly. "It was nothing, forget it. Everything's good now."  
  
"What happened?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Nothing, I was just upset about dinner and I was being cranky."  
  
"Yes, you and the crankiness fairy do meet on occasion." Rory nodded knowingly, then added quietly, "Far too many occasions, if you ask me."  
  
Lorelai smacked her on the arm. "Huh, I don't recall anyone asking you."  
  
"Wait - what happened at dinner?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I'll fill you in later." She glanced up and saw Jess wiping the counter and Caesar serving the tables. "Where's Luke? Have you seen him?"  
  
Sookie nodded. "Yeah, he's here. He must be in the kitchen cooking." She frowned. "I suggested that he add a little more ground cinnamon to his pancake batter to give it a little zing, but he just gave me a dirty look."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "You deserved it - his pancakes are perfect the way they are."  
  
Rory nodded in agreement. "Mmm, the best."  
  
Caesar walked over to their table. "Coffee?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Two please."  
  
Caesar walked away and returned shortly with two mugs. "Anything else?"  
  
Rory checked her watch. "Hmm, just a blueberry muffin to go please."  
  
"Pancakes with bacon," Lorelai added. Caesar wrote down the order and walked away.  
  
"I'm kind of craving pancakes right now, but I don't have enough time to eat them," Rory said disappointingly. "We have to get here earlier next time."  
  
"Hey, if you wanted pancakes, you should've ordered them," Lorelai said. "It's okay to be late to school, but you should never, ever deprive yourself of the incredible delicacy that is Luke's pancakes."  
  
"I don't think they'll accept a note saying I was late for school due to pancake worshipping," Rory said, rolling her eyes.  
  
Lorelai made a face. "Private schools are so unfair."  
  
Rory nodded in agreement. The three of them sipped their coffee and talked for a few minutes before Caesar brought Rory her muffin in a takeout bag. She took a final sip of her coffee and stood up. She gave Lorelai a kiss on the cheek. "See you later. Bye Sookie."  
  
"Bye hon, have a good day," Lorelai said.  
  
"Bye sweetie," Sookie said.  
  
Rory picked up her backpack and walked to the door, grabbing her umbrella before walking out into the rain. Lorelai and Sookie sat sipping their coffee for a few more minutes before Luke walked over to them. "Hey," he said.  
  
Lorelai smiled up at him. "Hi."  
  
He nodded toward the window. "Nice day."  
  
Lorelai turned her head to look out at the rain. "Yeah, this is the kind of weather where you just wanna not do any work at all, and just sit and drink coffee and talk all day long."  
  
"Not do work, drink coffee, and talk all day long?" Luke asked. "So essentially today is like any other normal day for you, it's just wetter."  
  
She frowned. "Funny."  
  
He smirked. "I thought so."  
  
"Why are my pancakes taking so long?" she asked with a huffy sigh.  
  
"They're not what's taking long," Luke explained. "It's the pieces of pork soaked in grease and oils and lard that you so happily refer to as bacon that's taking so long."  
  
"Ooh, when you describe it so delectably like that, it makes me want more. Throw on some extra pieces," Lorelai said excitedly.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I'll go check on it."  
  
When he walked away, Sookie smiled at Lorelai. "I see dating hasn't stopped you guys from teasing each other."  
  
Lorelai smiled and shook her head. She glanced out the window for a moment, staring at the rain. After a few seconds, she said, "You know, I do love this weather - except for the fact that we have little waterfalls pouring from the roof onto the porch in random spots because of the stupid clogged rain gutters."  
  
Luke, who'd arrived with her plate, said, "You still haven't gotten those taken care of?"  
  
She shook her head. "Nope. I'll call someone tomorrow." She started cutting up the pancakes.  
  
Luke waved her off. "I'll do it this weekend."  
  
Lorelai looked up at him. "No, Luke, you have tons of other things to do. I'll just hire someone."  
  
"Don't waste your money," he said. "I'm quite capable of cleaning out your gutters."  
  
"Luke - " she started.  
  
"Lorelai," he interrupted. "I'll take care of them. I've cleaned out rain gutters before and I already have an in-depth knowledge of your rooftop. I'll handle it, end of story."  
  
She raised her hands up in front of her chest in defeat. "Okay, okay." She sighed. "But I'm gonna pay you."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm not taking your money," he said sternly.  
  
She leaned forward and smiled. "Well, I guess we'll have to arrange another form of payment," she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.  
  
Luke's eyes widened, then he quickly glanced at Sookie uncomfortably. "Uh, I'll get to those gutters sometime this weekend." He nodded at them before walking away.  
  
"Thanks," Lorelai called. She looked at Sookie and let out a small laugh.  
  
Sookie giggled. "I think you embarrassed him."  
  
"Oh yeah?" she asked. "What tipped you off - the way his face turned bright red or the evil death stare he gave me?"  
  
Sookie laughed. "It was a combo of the two."  
  
As Lorelai ate her pancakes, she told Sookie about the argument she'd had with Emily, and what happened with Luke afterwards at the diner. Before she could tell her what happened at her house, Sookie checked her watch, "Honey, we should get to the inn."  
  
Lorelai nodded and took a final sip of coffee. They stood up and walked up to Luke at the counter. After they both paid, Lorelai leaned across the counter and kissed him. "Bye. Love you," she said quietly.  
  
He nodded and replied softly, "Yeah, love you too." He pushed the register drawer closed and walked into the kitchen.  
  
Lorelai walked toward the door and grabbed her umbrella. She held the door open for Sookie, but soon realized that Sookie wasn't behind her. Lorelai turned around and saw Sookie staring at her from the counter with wide eyes. Lorelai looked at her questioningly. "Sookie, come on."  
  
Sookie slowly walked toward her. "Lorelai!" she exclaimed as they walked out onto the sidewalk.  
  
"What?" she asked, holding the umbrella up over their heads.  
  
Sookie laughed. "What do you mean, what? What was that? You just . . . he just. . . .love you? Where did that come from?" She stared at Lorelai with a look of shock.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Oh, yeah, so let me tell you about the rest of last night," she said as they walked toward the inn.  
  
* * *  
  
The next evening, Lorelai waked into the diner after work and sat at the counter. Luke set a mug of coffee in front of her, then walked into the kitchen to get some plates. After delivering them to their tables, he walked over to her with a tired look on his face.  
  
"Man, you look exhausted," she commented.  
  
"Yeah, it's been busy today," he said. "How was your day?"  
  
She shrugged. "Not too bad."  
  
Luke nodded. He glanced around the diner before he brought his gaze back to her. "Um, remember a week or two ago when you told me Rory had lost her bracelet?"  
  
She nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"Whatever happened with that?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "She drove herself crazy scouring the entire town for it with no luck. She finally had to tell Dean that she lost it. . . but he took it surprisingly well."  
  
"So you never found it?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Nope. I have no idea where it could be. We looked everywhere."  
  
Luke nodded. "And what did it look like again?"  
  
"Uh, brown leather strap with a small silver medallion on it," she said. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What's with all the questions, Sherlock?"  
  
Luke sighed and pulled something out of his pocket. "Is this it?"  
  
Lorelai gasped and grabbed it. "Yes! Oh my God, where did you find it?"  
  
"Upstairs . . .in the hallway. . . in front of my apartment," he said slowly.  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him curiously. "What? How the heck would it get there?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I have no idea. It was lying in front of the door this afternoon, but I know it wasn't there earlier."  
  
"Huh," Lorelai said. "So how did. . ." her voice trailed off.  
  
Knowing what she was thinking, Luke started, "Lorelai, don't - ."  
  
"Jess," she said knowingly.  
  
"You don't know that for sure," Luke said, shaking his head.  
  
"How else would it get there?" she asked loudly. "He stole it. That little. . . ugh!" She shook her head angrily and clenched her fists. "I can't believe he did that!"  
  
"You have no proof that he did anything," Luke said. "Don't automatically blame everything on him."  
  
"God, come on Luke!" she exclaimed. "No one else goes up there except you! Did you have it this whole time?"  
  
"No."  
  
"So then, you explain to me how it got up there." Lorelai folded her arms across her chest and looked at him expectantly.  
  
Luke took a deep breath and shrugged. "I'll talk to him and see if he knows anything about it."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure he'll tell you the truth."  
  
"Look, I'm trying hard here to give him the benefit of the doubt. Why can't you do the same thing?"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Why should I? He's been nothing but trouble since he got here, Luke!"  
  
"He has not," Luke said, pursing his lips. "I know he's not exactly perfect, but what do you want me to do, lock him upstairs all day?"  
  
"If it keeps him from stealing my daughter's possessions, then yes!" she said loudly.  
  
Luke glanced around at the other customers. "Keep your voice down. I said I'd talk to him about it, let's drop it."  
  
"Go talk to him," Lorelai said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yes, I'm just dying to know what the kid has to say for himself. Go talk to him right now," she said.  
  
Luke let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine." He walked away from her towards the steps.  
  
Almost ten minutes later, Lorelai heard footsteps coming quickly down the steps. Jess stepped out of the stairway and walked into the diner, heading straight for the door without looking up. A few seconds later, Luke came down and walked over to her.  
  
"So?" she asked. "What did he say?"  
  
Luke sighed. "Well, it took a few minutes to get him to admit to having it, but he said he didn't steal it - he said he found it."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Found it, right."  
  
Luke ignored her comment. "He said he found it and he didn't know it was Rory's, and if he had known it was hers he would've gave it back to her."  
  
Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "And you believe him?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know. He seemed like he was telling the truth."  
  
Lorelai stared straight ahead with pursed lips. She shook her head slightly as she sighed deeply. She finally stood up and said, "I'm gonna go give it to Rory."  
  
"What are you gonna tell her?" Luke asked.  
  
"I'm gonna tell her that you found it by your door, and I'll let her assume what she wants. She's a smart girl, she can figure it out on her own," Lorelai said with a shrug.  
  
Luke nodded. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Lorelai turned and walked out of the diner.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Luke walked over to Lorelai's house. He knocked on the front door and Lorelai answered. "Hey," she said.  
  
"Hi." He gestured inside. "Can I. . ."  
  
She stepped back from the doorway and he walked inside, shutting the door behind him. She walked into the living room. He followed her and they sat down next to each other on the couch.  
  
"So. . . Rory talked to Jess," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yeah, I saw them outside of the diner a little while ago," he said. "Guess they worked things out."  
  
"Seems like it," Lorelai said with a shrug. "Dean was happy that the bracelet's back, so Rory was pretty excited about that."  
  
Luke nodded. After a brief pause, Luke asked with uncertainty, "Are you mad?"  
  
"Well, Rory doesn't seem to be, so I guess I shouldn't be either," she said with a sigh.  
  
"But you are?" Luke asked.  
  
She shrugged. "A little."  
  
"You know, you can't hate him forever, Lorelai," he said.  
  
She raised her eyebrows. "Why not?"  
  
"Because. . . you just can't," he said, sliding closer to her. "Because . . .I love you, and Jess is my nephew and. . .I don't know. I mean, eventually, you two will have to be in the same room together. I don't want there to be this weird feeling of hatred between you forever."  
  
"It probably won't last forever - just until one of us dies," she said pointedly.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to be serious here."  
  
"I know, so am I," she said.  
  
Luke shook his head. He paused a moment before he said, "We should do something together."  
  
She narrowed her eyes. "What?"  
  
"You, Rory, Me, Jess," he said. "We should do something together."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, like the last time when he came over and acted like the biggest jerk in the world to me? Yeah, we should definitely do that again," Lorelai said sarcastically. "I want to relive that evening as many times as possible."  
  
"That was when he first got here, Lorelai," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "Things have changed since then. He's different. . . he's not angry at the world anymore. Well, a little, but not as much." He took her hands into his and squeezed them. "Come on, tomorrow night, we'll order pizza, get a movie, just hang out."  
  
Lorelai sighed. She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Whatever, I don't care," she mumbled.  
  
He smiled. "Nice to see you're excited about it." As a small smile fell on her lips, he leaned forward and kissed her.  
  
* * *  
  
The next night, halfway through a dinner that had Rory, Lorelai, and Jess eating pizza while Luke ate a salad, Jess and Rory were talking quietly on one side of the table as Luke and Lorelai were talking on the other side.  
  
A few minutes later, Rory and Jess both stood up. "We're gonna go start the movie," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay, we'll be right in."  
  
Rory walked toward the living room and Jess followed behind her. When they were both gone, Lorelai shrugged. "So, this isn't so bad."  
  
"Yeah, because you haven't said anything to him at all," Luke pointed out.  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Not true. I asked him if he wanted a napkin."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "You know, making an effort would be nice."  
  
"Hello?" Lorelai scoffed. "Napkins are an essential compliment to every meal, especially pizza. You know, the oil drips off and it can ruin your clothing and - " Luke tilted his head at her and gave an annoyed look. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll talk to him."  
  
"Good," he said. He kissed her before he stood up and helped her clean off the table.  
  
A few minutes later they walked into the living room. Jess was sitting on one end of the couch while Rory sat on the floor in front of the coffee table. Luke sat down on the center couch cushion next to Jess, and Lorelai sat next to Luke.  
  
As Rory was fast forwarding through the previews, Lorelai cleared her throat. "So, uh, Jess. . .how's school?"  
  
Jess shrugged. "Not my favorite place in the world," he replied, staring straight ahead.  
  
Lorelai bit her lip and nodded. "Mmhmm. Yeah, I was the same way. Rory certainly didn't inherit her love of schoolwork from me." She paused a moment. "Uh, how do you like working at the diner?"  
  
Jess shrugged again. "I'd like it better if people knew how to tip around here."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, well . . . maybe you could post a note on the diner door about that or something. Or hang it next to the No Cell Phones sign."  
  
"I tried that. He ripped it down," Jess said, pointing to Luke.  
  
Lorelai looked at Luke questioningly. As Luke rolled his eyes and nodded, Lorelai and Rory both laughed.  
  
Lorelai tapped her fingers on her knee as she tried to think of another question. "Uh, so, how'd you guys like the pizza?" she asked. "Seemed extra tasty tonight."  
  
"I liked it," Rory said.  
  
"Pretty good," Jess said, shifting in his seat uncomfortably.  
  
"Oh, here we go," Rory said, pushing play on the remote control. As the opening scenes of The Wild Bunch played across the screen, Luke turned to Lorelai and gave her an appreciative smile. "Good start," he whispered. She nodded as he reached down and clasped his hand around hers.  
  
* * *  
  
Over two hours later, as the movie ended, Rory turned the television off and yawned. "Great movie."  
  
"Definitely," Lorelai said. "Can never see that one too many times."  
  
"How come you always rent movies that you've already seen hundreds of times before?" Luke asked. "Doesn't it seem like a waste of money?"  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Luke, you cannot put a price on good entertainment."  
  
As Jess stood up and glanced around, he shoved his hands into his pockets uncomfortably. Rory said, "Here, let me show you that CD I was telling you about."  
  
As they walked out of the room, Lorelai rested her head against Luke's shoulder. "So. . ."  
  
"So. . . that wasn't horrible, was it?" Luke asked. "I told you it wouldn't be bad."  
  
"Yeah, it wasn't bad. What'd you do, bribe him to be nice?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke groaned. "Come on, you were good the entire night, don't start with the cranky comments now."  
  
"Fine, sorry," she said. She lifted her head up and kissed him. She pulled back from him and repositioned her legs so that she was kneeling on her cushion, then leaned in to kiss him again.  
  
A few seconds later, they heard a cough. Lorelai broke away from Luke and turned around. Rory and Jess stood there watching them. "You guys done?" Rory asked with a smile.  
  
Lorelai stood up. "Not really, but I guess we should stop anyway." As Rory and Jess walked out onto the front porch, Lorelai pulled Luke up off the couch and walked with him to the door.  
  
"Thanks for bringing dinner," Lorelai said as he pulled on his coat.  
  
"You're welcome," Luke replied. "I'll see you tomorrow." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and walked out the door. "Jess," he said sternly.  
  
"What?" he replied.  
  
Luke nodded toward the doorway. Jess rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Bye."  
  
"Bye," Lorelai said.  
  
"Bye guys," Rory said. She walked back into the house and shut the door.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Okay, that wasn't a complete disaster."  
  
Rory shook her head. "You were definitely trying."  
  
"Too much?" she asked with a slight grimace.  
  
"No, it was good," Rory said. "But try spreading out the questions throughout the night next time instead of asking him ten in a row."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay, I'll work on that."  
  
* * *  
  
At almost 10 on Friday morning, Lorelai walked into the almost-empty diner and sat at the counter. "Luuuke!" she called in a singsong voice. "Luke, come out and talk to me!"  
  
Luke walked out from the kitchen and checked his watch. "You were just in here three hours ago. Don't you ever work?"  
  
She shrugged. "Sometimes."  
  
"Must be nice to have a job that you can leave anytime you want," he said as he started flipping through his order pad.  
  
"Yeah, it is. And the best thing about it is how mad Michel gets when I do it," she said with a smile. "But today, I actually have a good, legitimate excuse for leaving."  
  
"Oh yeah? What's that?" he asked, not looking up from his pad.  
  
"Doctor's appointment," she replied.  
  
He looked up at her. "Why?" he asked, a concerned look in his eyes.  
  
Lorelai hesitated, then let out a long sigh. "Well, Luke, there's not really an easy way to tell you this."  
  
"What is it?" he asked worriedly.  
  
Lorelai swallowed hard. "I think I'm pregnant."  
  
Luke's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. "What? But you said . . .and the. . . .what about. . ." he stammered nervously. He stared at her dumbfounded and swallowed several times.  
  
Lorelai smiled and rubbed her stomach. "Yup, Luke, you're gonna be a daddy. Aren't you excited?"  
  
Luke stared at her completely silent, his mouth hanging wide open and his eyes widened as large as they could go.  
  
After several seconds, Lorelai burst out laughing. She snapped her fingers a few times in front of his face. "Luke - come back to reality, I'm kidding!"  
  
Luke closed his eyes and let out a long sigh of relief. As he opened them, a stern look appeared on his face. "Don't do that - do you know what that kind of news can do to a man?" he said loudly.  
  
She smiled. "Yes, it can make them stare at someone like this." She imitated his wide-eyed, open-mouthed stare.  
  
He sighed annoyingly and gestured toward the door. "Okay, you can leave now."  
  
She smirked and smacked his arm playfully. "Come on, admit it, it was funny."  
  
"If your definition of funny is the same as my definition of not funny, then yes, you can call it funny," he said, rolling his eyes. "Almost gave me a heart attack," he mumbled.  
  
Lorelai snickered. "Hmm, well I thought it was funny."  
  
"That's because you're a sadist," he said pointedly.  
  
"Nothing wrong with a little sadism now and again," she said with a smile.  
  
"Except for you, 'now and again' is every single day," Luke pointed out.  
  
She shrugged. "Keeps me entertained."  
  
"Take up knitting or painting or drawing," he said. "Or any other hobby that can be entertaining to you without having to make some poor, unsuspecting person have a stroke for your own sick amusement."  
  
She frowned. "You're no fun."  
  
"Oh, I beg to differ," he said. "You're just too evil to realize that not everyone has the same definition of what's fun."  
  
She scoffed. "Hey, does this face look evil to you?" She tilted her head to the side and pouted.  
  
He stared at her for a moment before the corners of his mouth started to turn up into a small smile. He looked away from her.  
  
"Aha! I saw a smile, Lucas!" Lorelai said with a laugh.  
  
He looked up quickly and gave her a dirty look.  
  
She grimaced. "What? You didn't let me finish my sentence. I meant to say, um, 'Luke - us is the pronoun that means you and I.' You know, you thought I said Lucas, it was really a combination of Luke and us," she said, nodding energetically.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Nice cover."  
  
She smiled. "Thank you." She checked her watch and stood up. "Shoot, I'm gonna be late for my appointment."  
  
Luke looked at her with annoyance. "Don't start that - "  
  
"Eye doctor, Luke," she interrupted with a smile. "It's with the eye doctor. Although the idea of pulling the pregnancy joke on my parents tonight is kind of appealing."  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah, Friday night dinner tonight. Is that gonna be okay?"  
  
She shrugged. "Who knows? The Amazing Kreskin can't even predict what Emily Gilmore's gonna do." She leaned over the counter and kissed him. "Bye."  
  
"Bye," Luke replied, smiling to himself as he watched her walk out the door.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 13  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai and Rory pulled up to Emily and Richard's house slightly before seven. Lorelai leaned back against her seat and sighed loudly. They sat in silence for a minute before Rory asked, "Are we going in?"  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath. "I'm just so not in the mood for this."  
  
"Maybe it won't be too bad. Maybe she's over it," Rory said hopefully.  
  
Lorelai gave her a doubtful look. "Please, Emily Gilmore does not get over things in a week, you know that." Lorelai groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Ugh, she's just gonna start barraging me with comments about how I'm a terrible daughter and an awful mother and how I don't deserve to live."  
  
Rory let out a small laugh. "I don't think Grandma wants to condemn you to death for this, Mom."  
  
"Don't leave me alone with her," Lorelai warned. "I may end up stabbing her with my spoon or taking off my belt and tying around her mouth so she stops talking or something."  
  
Rory nodded. "I'll stay with you the whole time, I promise."  
  
"Thank you," Lorelai said. She glanced at the front door and huffed loudly. "Okay, let's go in."  
  
They walked up to the front door and Rory rang the doorbell, then turned to Lorelai. "Hey."  
  
"What?" Lorelai replied.  
  
"You're definitely not an awful mom," Rory said quietly, shaking her head. Lorelai smiled and hugged her. "Slightly insane, but still a great mom," Rory added.  
  
Lorelai pulled back and laughed. "Should've stopped while you were on my good side."  
  
A few seconds later, the maid answered the door and invited them inside. They walked in and handed their coats to her, then followed her to the dining room where Emily sat at the head of the table sipping a glass of wine. Salads were already placed at each table setting, with a glass of soda in front of Rory's usual spot and a glass of wine in front of Lorelai's.  
  
"Hi Mom," Lorelai said hesitantly.  
  
"Hey Grandma," Rory said.  
  
"Hello girls," Emily said, looking only at Rory.  
  
As they sat down across from each other, Rory asked, "Is Grandpa here?"  
  
Emily rolled her eyes. "No, he had a meeting of his cigar club. He missed a few meetings while we were on our trip, so for some reason he felt obligated to attend tonight's even though it interferes with our dinner." She shook her head. "I still don't understand the allure of a smoking club."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Men sitting around a room getting cancer together - it's a nice bonding experience for all ages," she said as she spread her napkin open on her lap.  
  
"Hmm," Emily said, taking a bite of her salad.  
  
Lorelai glanced down at her salad and picked at it with her fork.  
  
"So, uh, Grandma, how was your week?" Rory asked. "Did you miss the Florida weather?"  
  
"Oh, goodness, yes," Emily said. "It was nice to be home, but it was definitely an adjustment coming back."  
  
"Yeah, I can imagine," Rory said, nodding.  
  
"It's so much less stressful down there. Nothing to worry about, no responsibilities, you're just relaxing from the stresses of everyday life," Emily said. She sighed. "Then we got back, and all the stress and anxiety just piled right up again."  
  
"Huh," Lorelai said quietly before shoving a forkful of salad into her mouth.  
  
Emily looked at her. "What was that, Lorelai?"  
  
"Nothing," she muttered, shaking her head.  
  
Emily stared at her for a moment before she brought her gaze to Rory. "So tell me, how's school going?"  
  
Rory swallowed her mouthful of food before she answered. "Oh, it's fine right now, but I have midterms coming up so it's gonna be more hectic in the next few weeks."  
  
"I'm sure you'll do wonderful on them. You have excellent study habits. You know what your most important priorities are," Emily said pointedly while picking at her salad.  
  
Lorelai bit her lip and took a deep breath, trying not to let Emily's last sentence, which was surely directed toward Lorelai, get the best of her. Instead, Lorelai added, "Yup, she knows how to make the cheat sheets nice and small so she can hide them anywhere."  
  
Rory let out a small laugh. "It took years of practice."  
  
Emily pursed her lips. "Cheating is not something to be joked about. You can get in serious trouble for that kind of behavior."  
  
Lorelai and Rory looked at each other briefly. Rory said, "Uh, I. . .I know, Grandma. We were just kidding. Sorry."  
  
"Geez, Mom, it was a joke, lighten up," Lorelai said.  
  
"Mmhmm. Yes, well, maybe you should spend a little less time joking and a little more time trying to be a role model for your daughter," Emily said haughtily.  
  
Rory raised her eyebrows with surprise. "Grandma, mom's a great - " Rory started.  
  
"What are you talking about, Mother?" Lorelai asked loudly, interrupting Rory.  
  
"You know very well what I'm talking about," Emily said, looking down at her salad.  
  
"No, I don't, I'd like you to clarify," Lorelai replied, slamming her fork on her plate. "Are you talking about me making a little wisecrack about cheating in school, or could you possibly be referring to something else?"  
  
"I don't think this is an appropriate discussion to be having in front of Rory," Emily said firmly.  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, you're the one who started the conversation, now let's finish it."  
  
"Eat your salad, Lorelai," Emily said.  
  
"Mom, come on," Rory said quietly.  
  
"No, Emily, say what you have to say to me," Lorelai insisted, folding her arms across her chest. "Rory's old enough and mature enough to hear anything you have to say."  
  
"Lorelai, I will not get into this right now," Emily said. "Drop it."  
  
Lorelai ignored her. "What have I done that could possibly make you say that I'm a bad role model? If you think that me spending the night at my parents' house makes me a bad mother, then you seriously have problems."  
  
"Mom, please," Rory said uncomfortably.  
  
"Lorelai, enough!" Emily said sternly.  
  
"No, it's not enough!" Lorelai said, her face reddening with anger. "You cannot call me a bad role model and then expect me to ignore it like you just told me I needed a haircut or something! Back yourself up Mom, or don't say it to begin with!"  
  
Emily took a deep breath and glanced at Rory before she turned to Lorelai. "You need to start stabilizing your life, Lorelai. You need to start acting like a mature adult and stop running around like you're still a teenager. You think you would've learned that by now. . ." Emily's voice trailed off and she turned her head away.  
  
Lorelai scoffed loudly. "Running around like a teenager? That's what I'm doing?" As the maid entered the room with dinner, Lorelai stopped talking. She shook her head in disbelief and exhaled loudly.  
  
Rory sat in her chair staring at her plate uncomfortably. She lifted her head slightly and glanced at Lorelai, who had one elbow on the table and was resting her chin on her hand, an obvious look of upset on her face. As the maid exchanged the dinner plates for the salad plates, Rory was silently hoping that Lorelai was giving up on the fight.  
  
But when the maid had left the room, Lorelai turned to Emily and said, "You have no idea what you're talking about, Mom. I don't think that me sleeping with my boyfriend constitutes me running around like a teenager!"  
  
"Oh boy," Rory muttered under her breath.  
  
Emily glared at Lorelai. She wiped her lips with her napkin, then stood up and walked out of the dining room into the kitchen.  
  
"Where are you going?" Lorelai stood up and followed her into the kitchen.  
  
"I'm trying to take this conversation away from your daughter, Lorelai," Emily snapped.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Mom, Rory is seventeen, not four, and I tell her everything anyway."  
  
"Well, then maybe you should learn that there are things that shouldn't be discussed in front of children, especially a teenager who has a boyfriend and might end up making the same mistake that her mother did!" Emily yelled.  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Oh, please, Mother, give Rory a little credit. Do you honestly think that because I spent the night away from home, Rory's going to rush out and sleep with her boyfriend?"  
  
"You know how much that girl looks up to you, Lorelai!" Emily said loudly. "You have to think about how your actions will affect her!"  
  
"What - you think that over the past sixteen years, she didn't realize that at one point or another, her mom was probably having sex? That last week was the first time?" Lorelai shook her head slightly. "My God, I can't even believe I'm having this conversation with you." She paused a moment and sighed. "The point I'm trying to make is that, yes, I'm sorry that I came into your house when you weren't here, that was wrong."  
  
"Yes, it most certainly was," Emily said quickly.  
  
"Hi, let me finish," Lorelai said loudly. "Yes, that was wrong - and if you want to be mad at me for that, then fine, hold that grudge forever, I don't really care. But nothing else I did was wrong, and there's nothing I would change about how I acted. I know you have this little microchip in your head that makes it impossible for you to realize that I'm a responsible adult, Mother, but I do know how to make the right decisions! I called Rory and told her I wouldn't be home, I told her where I would be if she needed me, I took care of my daughter!"  
  
"Lorelai, you - " Emily started.  
  
Lorelai held up her hand. "Wait, I'm not done." Her voice softened. "You asked me what I would do if Rory did something like this, and you know what - if she does it tomorrow, then I would be pretty damn mad. But if she's thirty-three years old, and as much in love with her boyfriend then as I am with mine now, then I'd ignore everything else and be pretty damn happy for her, Mom. Pretty damn happy," she repeated. "Excuse me." She walked back into the dining room and joined Rory at the table, leaving Emily in the kitchen alone.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Rory and Lorelai walked into the diner. Jess was sitting at the counter flipping through a magazine as Luke wiped down a table.  
  
"Hey," Luke said, smiling at them as they walked through the door.  
  
"Hey Luke," Rory said. She walked over and sat next to Jess at the counter.  
  
Lorelai walked over to Luke. "Hi there," she said, kissing him on the cheek. He dropped his rag on the table, then sat down in a chair. She sat down next to him.  
  
"Everything go okay?" Luke asked. "You don't look upset."  
  
"Nope, definitely not upset," she said, shaking her head.  
  
"So she's not mad anymore?" Luke asked.  
  
"Oh, no, she's still mad. Come on, she's still mad that I lost my pencil sharpener in fourth grade, she'll be mad about this until she's ninety four," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "I just don't care anymore."  
  
"You don't care?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.  
  
"Nope, I don't care. She can yell at me all she wants and be mad at me for as long as she wants, but I don't care," Lorelai said. She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Luke, I hate when I fight with my mom. But if I had to choose between having that night with you or having her be happy with me - I mean, it's no contest." She smiled. "I wouldn't change anything about that night."  
  
He smiled. "Nothing?"  
  
She shook her head. "Nope."  
  
"Not even when we fell off the bed?" he asked with a smirk.  
  
She laughed. "Nope."  
  
He smiled and leaned forward. "I love you."  
  
The words still made chills run through her body, and she smiled. "I love you too." She pressed her lips against his and kissed him softly. They broke apart and stared at each other for a second before leaning forward and kissing again, this time allowing more of their passion to surface. Their mouths opened and their tongues met, an occurrence that had happened many times before but still made Lorelai's body shiver with excitement. A soft moan from Lorelai's throat grabbed the attention of the two teenagers at the counter, and they turned around.  
  
"Come on now, people eat at that table," Jess said, making a face. "Don't make me call the health inspector."  
  
Luke pulled back from Lorelai with an embarrassed look on his face. "Jess!" he grumbled. "Knock it off."  
  
"Hey, I'm just trying to provide a more sanitary atmosphere for your customers. You should thank me," Jess said. Rory nudged him with her elbow and gave him a look. After he briefly shook his head disappointedly at Luke, he turned around.  
  
Luke turned back to Lorelai and rolled his eyes. "You want some coffee?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, to go," Lorelai said. "I'm gonna head home." They stood up and walked to the counter. "Rory, you want a coffee to go?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah," she replied.  
  
A few seconds later, Luke set two cups in front of them. Lorelai paid for them, despite Luke's protests, then kissed him goodbye before walking out the door.  
  
* * *  
  
The next afternoon, Lorelai sat at the kitchen table paying bills and Rory sat across from her doing homework. Lorelai suddenly looked up and started biting the end of her pen as she stared into space. "Hey," she said. "Question."  
  
Rory looked up from her notebook. "Mom, I just explained it to you. They use special effects to do the commercial. I promise you that wearing your new low-rise jeans will not make your bellybutton sing."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Are you sure? 'Cause that's really gross."  
  
Rory nodded. "I'm sure, Mom." She started writing in her notebook.  
  
"Okay." Lorelai paused. "That wasn't my question, though."  
  
Rory looked up and sighed. "What is it now?"  
  
"Are you still sticking with Will?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "Yes, definitely. Will's perfect for Sydney."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No way. She should totally be with that really cute guy that she meets in weird random places. It's so obvious that they're setting them up."  
  
"Yeah, well, sometimes they make a setup seem obvious but then they never follow through with it," Rory pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, I hate when shows drag out the attraction between two people and it's so obvious that they're gonna get them together eventually, and you're just sitting there like, 'Come on, just get together already'," Lorelai said. "It's so frustrating."  
  
Rory nodded. "Yes, it is."  
  
They were quiet for a few seconds before Lorelai said, "But come on, you gotta admit that the cute guy is much hotter than Will."  
  
Rory shrugged. "I don't know, Mom. My loyalties are with Will."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "But he's too annoying, and he's not even close to the hotness of. . .damn, what's his name?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "I don't know. I've never heard you say his name. You just always refer to him as the cute guy."  
  
"I know. See, when he's on screen, I'm too busy staring at him to listen to what they're saying, so I never hear them say his name," Lorelai explained.  
  
"I understand," Rory said with a nod. "Uh, are you done with your bills?"  
  
Lorelai looked down at the papers spread out in front of her. "No, not yet. Are you insinuating that I should stop babbling and get back to paying them?"  
  
Rory smiled. "You catch on quick." She went back to her homework.  
  
Lorelai sighed and focused on the bills. A few minutes later, the phone rang. Rory and Lorelai looked at each other. It rang again, neither of them moved. It rang a third time. Rory sighed. "Fine, I'll get it."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Ha, I win again."  
  
Rory made a face and walked over to the phone. Lorelai watched her, tapping her pen on the table. "Hello?. . . Oh, hey. . . Right here. . . Uh huh. . . Yeah, I think so. . . Aww. . . I won't. . . Bye." Rory hung up the phone and walked back to the table. She started doing her homework again.  
  
Lorelai stared at her. "Rory?"  
  
"Hm?" she muttered, looking down at her book.  
  
"Who was that?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Oh, just Dean," Rory said quickly.  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at her. "Rory."  
  
"Yes?" she said, looking up.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Rory, you know you've never been able to lie to me. Who was it?"  
  
Rory's eyes widened. "I'm not lying." Lorelai tilted her head and smirked. Rory sighed. "Luke."  
  
Lorelai let out a small gasp. "What? What did he want?"  
  
"I can't tell you," Rory said, shaking her head.  
  
"Why not?" Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes curiously.  
  
"Because I told him I wouldn't."  
  
"So you lied," Lorelai said. "Tell me."  
  
"Come on Mom, he wants to surprise you. Don't ruin it for him," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai suddenly felt nervous. She raised her eyebrows and sat up straight in her chair. "Surprise me with what?" she asked.  
  
"God, you look terrified," Rory laughed. "It's no big deal. He wanted to come by tonight with some videos and he wanted to make sure that we . . well, specifically you. . .were gonna be home, okay? No big deal. Calm down."  
  
Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief as she sank back against her chair, then she smiled. "Aw, he's so cute."  
  
Rory smiled. "Yeah, don't tell him I told you."  
  
"I won't," Lorelai assured her.  
  
"I think I'll make myself sparse though so you guys can be alone."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks."  
  
* * *  
  
At five that evening, Lorelai said goodbye to Rory as she headed over to Lane's, then sat on the couch and waited for Luke, practicing in her head how to act surprised to see him. When the doorbell rang, she jumped up off the couch, then decided she better not act too eager. She walked slowly to the door and pulled it open.  
  
Luke stood on the porch with a pizza and a brown bag from the market. "Hey," he said.  
  
"Luke!" Lorelai said, feigning surprise. "Come in. What are you doing here?  
  
He stepped inside and set the bag and pizza on the bench next to the door. He took off his coat and hung it up, then kissed her. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged sheepishly. "Uh, actually. . . today's our one month anniversary."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened with surprise - and this time she wasn't pretending. "What?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yup, one month ago today we had that movie and pizza night here, remember?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yup. Wow, I can't believe you kept track of that." She tilted her head and smiled. "Oh my God, how adorable are you?"  
  
"I've been told, pretty adorable," he said with a smile. "So I thought we could celebrate by doing it again. I brought pizza and movies."  
  
"Aw, you're so sweet," she gushed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. She pulled back and pointed to the brown bag. "What's in there?"  
  
He glanced at it and picked it up. "I was standing in front of the florist for twenty minutes trying to decide if I should waste my money on stupid flowers or not," Luke said, starting one of his quick-paced rants. "Because not only do they cost a hell of a lot of money, they're only nice for a few days and then they start to droop and then they die in a week and then you've got to throw them out, so it's like throwing money directly in the garbage can." He took a deep breath. "So I got you something you would enjoy more than flowers."  
  
She giggled excitedly as she looked through it. "Oh my God! Red Vines, Goobers, Jelly Beans, peanut M & M's, marshmallows, a can of whipped cream!" She looked up and laughed. "You had a choice between this or flowers, and you decided to support my junk food addiction?" She gasped. "The addiction you look down on with such disapproval? You know, this is just like throwing it in the garbage too since it'll all be gone in a few hours."  
  
He shrugged. "I know, but the happiness quotient of this stuff is higher than with flowers."  
  
She smiled and looked in the bag again. "You are so right about that." She paused and squinted into the bag. "Wait, what's that?" She reached in and pulled out a small bag. She looked at it and laughed. "Carrot sticks?"  
  
He smiled. "I get hungry too, you know."  
  
She smiled and put the carrots back, then picked up the bag and brought it to the living room. Luke followed with the pizza. "What movies did you get?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"They're underneath all the junk food," he said.  
  
Lorelai reached into the bag and pulled out two DVDs. "Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal." She laughed. "So romantic!"  
  
He smiled and shrugged. "I thought so."  
  
She smiled and walked over to the television. As she slipped the first DVD into the player, she asked, "Can you get me a Coke?"  
  
"Yeah, sure." Luke walked into the kitchen and returned a minute later with drinks, paper plates and napkins. He placed them on the coffee table next to the pizza and sat down on the couch.  
  
Lorelai sat on the floor in between the coffee table and the couch. She opened the pizza box. "Mmm," she said, inhaling the aroma. "Smells great, doesn't it?" She put a piece on a plate and handed it to Luke, then took out a piece for herself as the movie started.  
  
* * *  
  
Halfway through the movie, she pulled out the can of whipped cream. "Oh, good, it's still cold." She crawled up onto the couch and sat next to Luke. She shook the can, then opened it and squirted some into her mouth.  
  
Luke laughed. "That's attractive."  
  
Lorelai swallowed her mouthful and said, "Want some?"  
  
He made a face. "No, thank you."  
  
She crawled onto him, positioning her body so that she was sitting sideways on his lap, leaning back against the arm of the couch. She held the can in front of his mouth. "Just a little?"  
  
Luke shook his head and pushed the can away. Lorelai giggled and quickly brought it back and squirted some onto his lips before his hand could knock it away. "Hey!" He laughed. "What are you doing?" He wiped it off his lips with his finger and held it out in front of him. "God, this stuff'll kill you."  
  
"Oh my God, it's on your finger," Lorelai teased. "What are you gonna do now?"  
  
"Hand me a napkin," he said.  
  
She shook her head. "Nope, you have to eat it."  
  
"Lorelai," he said with an annoyed sigh. "Hand me a napkin please."  
  
"Luke, you can't waste perfectly good whipped cream," Lorelai said. "Just eat it. I want to see Luke Danes eat something unhealthy."  
  
"Forget it."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll eat it." She wrapped both hands around his wrist and led his finger to her mouth. She closed her soft lips around it and swirled her tongue over it, licking off the whipped cream as she stared into his eyes. His breathing started getting heavier as she closed her eyes and gently sucked on his finger, sliding it slowly in and out of her mouth, letting her teeth drag over it gently. Luke let out a short groan of approval as his arousal started intensifying.  
  
When she finally stopped and opened her eyes, he was staring at her with a sly smile on his face. She smiled and kissed him deeply before whispering, "Grab the whipped cream." She jumped up off of him and ran up the steps. He grabbed the can and followed her up to her room.  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, the bathroom door opened and they both walked out of the steam-filled room. Luke had a towel wrapped around his waist and Lorelai had on her robe. They walked into Lorelai's bedroom. Luke sat on the bed and collapsed against the pillows and Lorelai lay down next to him. He wrapped an arm around her and ran his fingertips up and down her arm. "Feel better now?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm not all sticky anymore," she said, making a face.  
  
"Yeah, well, whipped cream does have that effect. Thanks for rubbing it in my hair, by the way, that was very kind of you," he said, rolling his eyes.  
  
She looked up at him and smirked. "Hey, when you were in that position, my first instinct was to grab your hair. I forgot I had whipped cream all over my hands."  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Check next time."  
  
"Aye aye, captain." She turned her body to lay on her side, resting her head on the pillow and staring at him. She dragged her finger over his chest. "You have a very talented mouth."  
  
He let out a small laugh. "Uh, thanks. So do you."  
  
She smiled. "Thanks." She stared at him for a few seconds before she asked, "Do you believe in love at first site?"  
  
He turned to look at her. "Sure, if you're superficial and you want to base your entire relationship on the fact that one day you saw someone attractive and suddenly decided, without even talking to them, that that person was perfect for you."  
  
She laughed. "Okay, sensing the sarcasm. So you didn't fall in love with me when you first saw me?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "Nope. It took me awhile to realize it." He smiled down at her. "At least five minutes." Lorelai smiled and kissed him. A few minutes later, they got dressed and went downstairs to finish the movies.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai woke up and heard a scuffling sound outside her window. She stared at it warily from her bed for a few minutes, trying to determine what it was. She finally walked over to it and peeked outside, and was surprised to see Luke kneeling on her roof near the gutters. His usual flannel shirt was missing; he was wearing just a black T-shirt with his jeans.  
  
She smiled and opened the window. "Hey."  
  
Luke turned around. "Hey. I wasn't too loud, was I?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Nope. How long have you been here?"  
  
He walked over to the window and kneeled next to it. He checked his watch. "About half an hour." He leaned through the window and kissed her.  
  
She nodded toward the gutters. "How are they?"  
  
"Clogged," he said, looking down at them. "Very clogged. I've found so much crap up here it's unbelievable. Lipstick, pens and pencils, candy wrappers, a container of Tic Tacs. What, is this like your extra storage area?"  
  
She laughed. "Yup, we definitely don't have enough space inside."  
  
"You might want to invest in some sort of container," he said. He walked back down to the gutters and started working on them again.  
  
Lorelai watched him from the window for a few minutes. "Luke?"  
  
He craned his neck back to look at her. "What?"  
  
"You're really sexy when you're doing hard labor," she commented.  
  
He nodded. "I know. Jess tells me that all the time."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "And on that slightly disturbing note, I'm gonna go take a shower."  
  
He smiled. "See you later."  
  
"Bye." She shut the window, then watched him through it as he turned around and went back to the gutters. She knocked on the window to get his attention. When he turned around, she smiled and pulled off her pajama shirt. His eyes widened as he smiled and gave her an approving nod. She waved and walked away from the window, grabbing her robe as she headed towards the bathroom.  
  
* * *  
  
Almost thirty minutes later, Lorelai walked out of the bathroom and back into her room. She could hear Luke pounding on the gutter right outside her window. She shut the bedroom door and walked over to her closet. She folded her arms across her chest and stared into it, trying to decide what to wear.  
  
The pounding stopped for a moment, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement by the window, a shadow of someone walking by. Staring straight ahead at the closet, she nonchalantly untied her robe and let it slide off of her body. She glided her hands over her stomach, up over her chest, and up to her hair, where she ran her fingers through it and shook it out gently. As the shadow disappeared, she smiled to herself and picked out some clothes to wear. Seconds later, the pounding started up again and she muttered, "Okay, that's gonna get annoying really soon."  
  
A few minutes later, she walked downstairs and wandered into the kitchen. Rory sat at the table doing homework. "Hey hon."  
  
"Morning," Rory said. "I think I might have to go to the library or to the diner or something. It's kinda hard to concentrate with the banging."  
  
"Oh, I know," Lorelai agreed. "I've only been hearing it for a few minutes and it's already driving me crazy." She walked over to the coffeepot and poured herself a cup as Luke walked in through the back door.  
  
"Hey," he said, walking over and kissing her.  
  
She smiled. "Hey, how's it -." She stopped talking and listened for a moment. Her smile faded as she realized that the banging on the roof was still going on. She gave Luke a confused look. "Luke, do you have one of those robotic gutter cleaners doing the work up there for you?"  
  
Luke laughed. "What? No, Jess is helping me out."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "What? He's up on the roof right now? While . . .while you're down here?"  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her and nodded. "Uh, yeah. He got here a little while ago, so he's tossing the junk down from the roof and I'm putting it into the garbage bags."  
  
"Wait, wait, wait," Lorelai said, holding up her hands. "So, you're telling me that Jess is up on the roof near my bedroom window while you've been down on the lawn?" She put her hands on Luke's shoulders and squeezed them. "Is that what you're telling me?" she asked nervously.  
  
* * * 


	3. Parts 14 to 18

"It's Right There - parts 14 - 18"  
  
* * *  
  
PART 14  
  
* * *  
  
"Yeah, Jess is up on the roof," Luke said, looking at Lorelai curiously.  
  
Lorelai gasped and her eyes widened. "Oh my God." She clasped a hand over her mouth and quickly walked out of the kitchen.  
  
Luke glanced questioningly at Rory, who raised her eyebrows and shrugged. Luke walked down the hallway and found Lorelai sitting on the couch, leaning forward with her face in her hands. He stopped a few feet away from her. "What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
Her hands still covering her face, she shook her head toward the ground. "Nothing," she mumbled.  
  
Luke stared at her for a moment, then folded his arms across his chest. "I can't believe this," he said sternly.  
  
Lorelai slowly removed her hands from her face and looked up at him. She swallowed hard and said quietly, "You know what happened?"  
  
"I don't understand you sometimes," he said, shaking his head disappointingly. "You say you're gonna make an effort with Jess, that you're gonna try to be nice to him, but here you are - mad just because he's around. You know, he's doing you a favor up there, Lorelai. He doesn't have to - ."  
  
"You don't know what you're talking about, Luke," Lorelai interrupted loudly. She started biting her thumbnail nervously.  
  
"Oh, I don't?" he asked haughtily. "Well, it seems pretty obvious to me."  
  
Lorelai shook her head and sighed. "Luke."  
  
"Lorelai, Jess is apart of my life now," he said. "I wish you'd try to understand that. I can't keep - ."  
  
"Luke!" she yelled, interrupting him again.  
  
"What?" he said loudly.  
  
Lorelai glanced into the kitchen and saw Rory staring at them, but she quickly went back to her homework when she saw Lorelai look in. Lorelai stood up from the couch and took a few steps toward Luke. She folded her arms across her chest and clenched her teeth together. She exhaled loudly before she said, "Jess just saw me naked."  
  
Luke's face went blank. His eyes slowly widened as he stared at her, processing what she'd said. He stammered, "Uh, wha. . .what?"  
  
Lorelai nodded and pointed toward the front door. "Yes, your perfect little nephew out there just saw me naked!" she whispered loudly.  
  
His eyes looked toward the front door, then back to Lorelai. "He saw you. . . naked? When? How? Where?"  
  
"Yeah, don't forget who, what, and why," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "He looked in my window when I was changing, that little. . .ugh!" she said angrily, clenching her fists tightly.  
  
"Wait, you actually saw him looking in at you?" Luke asked, still in shock.  
  
"Yes!" she hissed. She paused and thought for a moment. "Well, no. . .not exactly. I saw a shadow at the window and I thought it was you, but then you just told me that you weren't up there, so it must've been him!"  
  
Luke took a deep breath. His face reddened slightly and his nostrils flared. He quickly turned and headed toward the front door. Lorelai followed him, grabbing her denim jacket on the way out.  
  
The pounding got louder as they stepped out the door. Luke walked onto the front lawn as Lorelai stood uncomfortably on the porch, waiting to see what happened.  
  
"Jess!" Luke yelled, staring up at him on the roof.  
  
The pounding stopped and Jess looked down at the ground. "What?" he replied.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Luke yelled.  
  
"I'm sewing a quilt, what does it look like I'm doing?" Jess retorted.  
  
"You're supposed to be cleaning the gutters, not looking in people's windows!" Luke yelled, pointing up at him.  
  
Jess shrugged. "No idea what you're talking about."  
  
"Oh, don't give me that!" Luke yelled. "You know damn well what I'm talking about!"  
  
"You must be thinking of someone else," Jess said, standing up and stretching his arms over his head.  
  
"You were looking in Lorelai's window, she saw you!" Luke yelled.  
  
Jess scoffed. "She did not - she didn't even turn her head toward the . . ." Jess' voice trailed off. He grimaced, realizing what he'd just said.  
  
Luke's eyes widened and his face tightened. "Jess, what's the matter with you? You better explain yourself right now!"  
  
"Look, it was an accident," Jess said, holding his hands out innocently in front of his chest.  
  
"How the hell was it an accident?"  
  
"I didn't know she was in there when I looked in, okay?" Jess said with a loud sigh. "It's not like I had my face pushed up against the glass like I was Ralph and she was a Red Ryder BB Gun. She dropped her robe just as I walked by. How was I supposed to know that would happen at that exact moment?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes as she listened from the porch. She shoved her hands into her pockets and shifted her feet, a mixture of anger and embarrassment running through her.  
  
Luke didn't say anything for a moment. He stared up at Jess, trying to decide whether to believe him or not. He sighed loudly as he glanced quickly at Lorelai, then looked back up at Jess. "You swear it was an accident?"  
  
"Yes, sorry, I didn't mean to look at her, okay?" Jess said, adding an annoyed groan.  
  
Luke shook his head slightly. "Just finish the gutters and stay away from the damn windows," he said sternly. He started walking toward Lorelai on the porch.  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "That's all you're gonna say to him?" she said, stepping off the porch. She looked up at Jess, whose eyes widened when he saw her. He turned his head away from her, a slight embarrassment on his face.  
  
"Listen, maybe no one explained to you the etiquette of cleaning out gutters, but around here we don't walk around looking into windows like Mrs. Kravitz while we do it!" Lorelai said loudly. She took a deep breath. "How dare you - ."  
  
Luke reached out and turned her toward him. "Lorelai, come on, I took care of it."  
  
Lorelai shook her arm out of his grasp. "You call that taking care of it?" she asked with astonishment.  
  
Luke shrugged. "Yeah."  
  
"Look, I apologized, what else do you want from me?" Jess asked.  
  
"Lorelai, he didn't mean to do it," Luke explained. "You heard him, it was just an accident."  
  
"Ugh! I can't believe you're defending him!" Lorelai said loudly, throwing her hands up in frustration. She turned around and stormed across the front yard.  
  
"Where are you going?" Luke called after her.  
  
"For a walk!" she yelled angrily.  
  
Luke sighed loudly as he watched her walk quickly down the street. He glanced up at Jess, who was staring down at him. Luke shoved his hands into his jeans and looked around the yard uncomfortably.  
  
"Uh, I'm not exactly an expert on this, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to follow her," Jess said.  
  
Luke looked up at him. "Work on the gutters and don't talk."  
  
Jess shrugged. "Just trying to help." He kneeled back down and continued on the gutters.  
  
"Oh, you've been plenty of help today, thank you," Luke said, rolling his eyes. Luke walked into the house, slamming the door behind him. He paced back and forth in the front hallway for a few seconds before he finally walked back outside. He crossed the yard and headed after her down the street.  
  
* * *  
  
Lorelai knocked loudly on Sookie's front door. "Come on, Sookie, please be home, please be home," Lorelai muttered. After waiting a few seconds, she turned around and glanced toward the street, noticing that Sookie's car wasn't anywhere in sight.  
  
She sighed loudly and walked off the porch. She stood in front of the house, glancing around at the town square for a few seconds before walking quickly down the sidewalk. She eventually ended up near the old bridge. She walked to the center of it, sat down on the edge, and stared out at the water.  
  
* * *  
  
Lorelai's eyes were closed and she was clutching her legs tightly against her chest as her chin rested on her knees. She heard footsteps getting closer to her on the bridge. They stopped when they reached her, and she opened her eyes and glanced down, recognizing Luke's shoes. She brought her gaze back to the water.  
  
"It took me an hour to find you," Luke said.  
  
"Well, then you shouldn't become a professional hide and seeker," Lorelai replied.  
  
He sat down next to her. "Talk to me."  
  
She stared straight ahead but said nothing.  
  
Luke sighed. "Lorelai, you've probably been thinking about this for an hour, I know you have something to say."  
  
Lorelai turned to look at him, and he saw that her eyes were red from crying. He moved closer and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned her body against his and sniffled as he kissed her head. After a minute of holding her, Luke said, "This is crazy. Why are you so upset?"  
  
Lorelai lifted her head up and pulled back from him. "What?"  
  
He shrugged. "I mean, this seems like a big deal now and I can see how it'd be embarrassing for you, but everyone'll forget about it in a few days and things will be back to normal."  
  
Lorelai scoffed and shook her head. "I know that, Luke. That's not the point right now. The point is that it happened, it's embarrassing, and it's making me upset - and look who's right at the center of it - Jess," she said, making a face.  
  
"Exactly, Jess," Luke repeated. "Would you be this upset if it happened with someone else - someone you didn't already hate?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'd be upset if it happened with anyone." She paused a moment. "Would you be this not-upset if it happened with someone else?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Luke said, narrowing his eyes at her.  
  
"I'm talking about the way that you supposedly 'took care of it'," Lorelai said, using her fingers to make quotation marks in the air. "You don't seem mad at all that someone else, in particular a seventeen year old kid, saw your girlfriend naked. You were actually defending him, Luke."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "What am I supposed to do, Lorelai? It happened, it was an accident, it's over now. It's not like punishing him is gonna change anything. It's not like he stole something and I can force him to give it back. I can't force him to forget what he saw. He didn't do it on purpose. He wasn't trying to see you naked."  
  
She exhaled loudly. "Okay, so if Dean had been up there on the roof and he had been the one to see me naked and said it was an accident, you would feel the same way?"  
  
Luke thought for a moment. "I don't. . .I'd probably. . ." He sighed. "I don't know."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Well, I do. You wouldn't believe anyone else who called something like that an accident, but since it was perfect little Jess, all is right with the world," she said, rolling her eyes. She stared down at a twig floating in the water. "Why is it that every time there's tension between you and me, it has something to do with Jess?"  
  
"I don't know," Luke replied.  
  
She clenched her fists. "Ugh, I'm so sick of fighting about him."  
  
"Well, so am I," Luke said with a sigh. "Stop letting him get to you."  
  
Lorelai scoffed and nodded. "Okay, so it's all my fault, great."  
  
Luke took a deep breath. "That's not what I meant."  
  
Lorelai was silent for a moment. Then she said quietly, "Luke, I've been trying with Jess. I've been good, I've tried to talk to him, I've tried to get to know him."  
  
"I know you have," Luke agreed, running his hand up and down her back. "Thank you."  
  
"But, it's just not. . ." Lorelai sighed. "I really don't think . . ." Her voice trailed off as she tried to gather her thoughts.  
  
"Lorelai, don't give up trying just because of this," Luke said. "This was just an accid -."  
  
"An accident," Lorelai finished for him. She rolled her eyes and nodded. "Fine, it was just an accident, but it still happened and I'm still upset and. . .it's just, this whole Jess thing is making me so stressed out. I can't keep worrying about all this stuff all the time." She paused for a moment, then looked up and released a deep sigh into the sky. "It's just not gonna work out, Luke."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Lorelai turned to look at him. She swallowed hard, and as tears ran down her cheeks, she said, "I'm talking about us. It's just not gonna work out."  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "Don't say that. You know that's not true."  
  
She shook her head as more tears streamed down her face. "It's just too much right now. Jess and I. . . we're just never gonna get along, Luke. And I don't want to make you choose between us, so . . . "  
  
"Lorelai, stop," Luke said sternly. "You can't give up on us just because Jess annoys you. That has nothing to do with us. That's a completely different subject than us being together."  
  
Lorelai sniffled loudly and wiped her eyes. "Luke, Jess is apart of your life, he's always gonna be around. I just. . .I don't think I can deal with him. Maybe we should just. . .take a break from us for awhile."  
  
Luke sighed. "You always try to run away when things don't go as perfectly as you want them to, and I'm not gonna let you do that this time."  
  
"Luke, I - ," Lorelai started.  
  
"Lorelai, listen to me," Luke interrupted. "If you're not in love with me anymore, if you don't want to be with me, then I can understand that - that's the only reason we should even consider breaking up. Is that what you're saying, that you're not in love with me anymore?"  
  
Lorelai stared at him for a moment before she swallowed hard and shook her head. "No."  
  
"Well, then Jess should have nothing to do with whether or not we're together. Just forget about him, just focus on me. I'm not letting you give up on this relationship for something that stupid, do you hear me?"  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath and slowly nodded.  
  
Luke stood up and held out his hands to her. She grabbed hold of them and he pulled her up off the ground and into a warm embrace. She rested her head against his shoulder as his arms held her tightly. They stood there hugging for a few minutes, the only sound being that of Lorelai sniffles.  
  
Finally, she said softly, "I didn't wanna break up, Luke. I just didn't know what else to do."  
  
"I know," he said, kissing her cheek. "I love you."  
  
She pulled back from him and smiled. "Love you too." She kissed him, then rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. "I'm sorry," she mumbled softly.  
  
"It's okay," he said, rubbing his hands up and down her back. "Look, we're gonna work through this, you know?"  
  
She nodded. "I know."  
  
"I know you don't like him," Luke said. "But give it time; maybe after awhile you guys'll get along."  
  
"I've been trying," Lorelai reminded him.  
  
"I know you have," Luke said.  
  
"It's gonna be creepy now," Lorelai said. "He saw me naked, Luke." She shuddered. "Oh God, how am I gonna look him in the eye again?"  
  
"Well, if it makes it easier, I don't think he'll be looking at your eyes," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai pulled away from him and smacked him on the shoulder. "This isn't funny," she said with a small laugh.  
  
He smiled. "Come on, let's go home."  
  
She paused before she asked, "Is he still there?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Lorelai, you're gonna have to see him again eventually. You might as well get it over with now." He laced his fingers through hers and they started walking toward the house.  
  
* * *  
  
As they approached the house, they noticed Jess wasn't working on the roof. "Did he go home?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke shrugged. "Maybe he's inside."  
  
They walked into the house, where Rory was still doing her homework at the kitchen table as Jess sat next to her. Luke led Lorelai into the kitchen. Jess and Rory both looked up as they walked in.  
  
Noticing how red Lorelai's eyes were, Rory's eyes widened. "Mom, is everything okay?" she asked, concerned.  
  
"Mmhmm," she said, forcing a smile. She looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with Jess as a feeling of embarrassment washed over her.  
  
"You done with the gutters?" Luke asked Jess.  
  
He let out a small laugh. "Not even close. Just came in for a drink," he said, holding up a soda can.  
  
"All right, finish it up and get back out there. It's gonna take all day," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai turned around and left the kitchen. She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Luke walked in and sat next to her. "You all right?"  
  
She nodded. "Fine, great, how are you?" she replied quickly.  
  
"Uh, pretty good," he replied, narrowing his eyes at her. "Are you hungry? You never ate breakfast and it's already lunchtime. And I'm sure your body's going into some sort of coffee withdrawal by now."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "It definitely is."  
  
"I'll go make some, you think about what you want to do for lunch," Luke said.  
  
"Okay," she said, smiling. She leaned in to kiss him before he stood up and walked out of the room. When he had disappeared into the kitchen, Lorelai stood up and walked out the side door. She walked around the porch over to the front yard where Jess was about to climb up the ladder. "Wait."  
  
Not hearing her walk over, Jess was startled. He paused on the bottom rung. "What?"  
  
She walked over to him, folding her arms over her chest. "Listen, we don't really get along."  
  
"No, we don't," he said.  
  
"And you know, Luke has this fantasy that one day we're gonna go through this whole weird bonding thing, but frankly, I don't see it happening," she said.  
  
"Me either," he replied.  
  
She shrugged. "Good, we agree on something. So listen, here's the proposal. You try to act like a normal person around me instead of a smartass, and I'll stop acting like you're the spawn of the devil."  
  
"What's the point of that?" he asked.  
  
She glanced toward the house, making sure Luke wasn't looking for her. "Well, if we can engage in a normal conversation once in awhile and pretend to get along, Luke will leave us alone and won't try to force us into becoming best friends anymore."  
  
"Ah," he said with a nod.  
  
"Yeah, so all we have to do is occasionally pretend to like each other for Luke's sake. Deal?" Lorelai asked.  
  
He shrugged. "Deal."  
  
"Good," she said with a nod. "And who knows, maybe the pretend niceness will turn into genuine niceness someday."  
  
He raised his eyebrows and gave her a doubtful look.  
  
She shrugged. "I said maybe." She started walking up to the porch. As she reached the front door, she turned back and said, "And if I ever catch you near my bedroom window again, I will be forced to take drastic measures that may end with a post-funeral party in your honor."  
  
Jess sighed. "I wasn't lying, that really was an accident," he insisted.  
  
She stared at him for a moment, trying to read his facial expression. She slowly nodded. "Then don't let it accidentally happen again."  
  
He nodded and climbed up the ladder as she turned around and walked into the house.  
  
* * *  
  
The next evening, Lorelai and Rory walked into Miss Patty's dance studio for the town meeting, arriving late as usual. Luke sat in the back row with two seats saved for them. Rory sat on the aisle as Lorelai slid into the seat next to him. She kissed him before whispering, "What'd we miss?"  
  
"Uh, nothing much," he said with a shrug. "Just the usual boring reminders. Oh, and there was an announcement about the Founder's Day Festival."  
  
"What - they're postponing it again?" Lorelai asked. "It was supposed to be last month. When is it now?"  
  
"No, it's still next week," he said, rolling his eyes. "They were just looking for volunteers to bring the matches."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Ah, I gotcha." Lorelai leaned over and relayed the message to Rory, then they turned their attention to Taylor up at the podium.  
  
" . . . to please come out and show your support for the team," Taylor concluded. He shifted through the papers in front of him. "Okay, I think that's all the topics I wanted to address. Now then, the floor is open. Are there any issues to be discussed?"  
  
Bootsy stood up. "I have a problem with Luke's Diner."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh geez," he mumbled. "Does anyone actually care about his problems?"  
  
"Bootsy?" Lorelai whispered. "No, I'm pretty sure everyone hates him."  
  
Up at the podium, Taylor nodded. "Oh yes, thank you for reminding me."  
  
Luke stood up. "What the heck is the problem?"  
  
Lorelai and Rory glanced at each other and shrugged.  
  
"The problem is, Luke," Taylor started. "That for the past few weeks, there have been several complaints about the inconsistency of your hours of operation. When the sign on the door says that you open at 6 a.m., and someone shows up to the diner at 6 a.m. but it's not open, that causes confusion and chaos."  
  
Luke scoffed loudly. "How exactly does that cause chaos?"  
  
"Well, it forces the townspeople to rearrange their entire morning schedule in order to make up for the time they lose waiting for you to open, or having to go out and find another place to eat. It throws off their daily routines, Luke," Taylor said.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll take down the sign that has the hours on it and replace it with a sign that says "Open When I Feel Like It."  
  
Lorelai and Rory giggled next to him. "Ha, that was good," Lorelai said quietly.  
  
Bootsy turned around and pointed a finger at Lorelai. "She's the problem, Taylor. Ever since those two got together, Luke's establishment has gone downhill."  
  
Lorelai scoffed and jumped up. "That's not true!"  
  
"Leave her out of this," Luke said sternly.  
  
"Yeah, no one likes you, Bootsy," Lorelai muttered under her breath.  
  
"Patty, how long has this been going on?" Taylor asked, gesturing to Luke and Lorelai.  
  
Miss Patty pulled out her date book. She flipped through several pages, then announced, "They've been together. . . one month this past Saturday." She looked towards Lorelai and Luke and smiled. "Aww, congratulations."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes as Lorelai smiled and said, "Thank you."  
  
"Well, that does seem to fit the timeline of the complaints," Taylor said.  
  
"Oh, Taylor, just leave them alone," Miss Patty said.  
  
"Yeah, leave us alone," Lorelai said. "Instead of complaining about Luke interrupting your stupid daily routines, you should be happy for him that he's not still that guy who used to sit in his diner all day long with no life whatsoever."  
  
Luke looked at her and groaned. "Thank you," he said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"You're welcome." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek before she sat down.  
  
"This is a problem that needs to be corrected for the sake of the town, Luke," Taylor said. "You have to stick to the scheduled hours that you post on the door or you have to hire more help."  
  
"I don't have to do anything, Taylor," Luke said loudly.  
  
"No, but you should if you want to prevent Stars Hollow from turning into a rundown travesty of a town," Taylor said.  
  
Luke let out a laugh. "Where do you come up with this stuff?"  
  
"I'm serious Luke. If you don't deal with this problem now, it will only get worse," Taylor said.  
  
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Luke said sarcastically. "Are we done here?"  
  
Lorelai stood up. "I'm done."  
  
Rory stood up. "Me too. Let's get pie."  
  
"Good, let's go," Luke said. They started walking to the door. Luke turned around and announced, "We're going to the diner for pie - and no one else is invited." A disappointed murmur went through the crowd as the three of them exited the dance studio.  
  
As they walked toward the diner, Lorelai and Rory were laughing. "Did you see the serious look on Taylor's face when he was talking about the town turning into a travesty?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Oh, I know! What the heck was that all about?"  
  
Luke sighed. "It's just Taylor being Taylor." He unlocked the door and they walked into the diner, then he locked it back up as Lorelai and Rory sat at the counter.  
  
Luke put on a fresh pot of coffee and went into the kitchen to get the pie. He brought it out to the counter and cut them each a slice, then poured them some coffee. They both thanked him before quickly digging into their pieces.  
  
"Mmm, so good," Lorelai said.  
  
"Mmhmm," Rory agreed.  
  
He leaned against the kitchen doorway and watched them with a small smile on his lips. Lorelai finished chewing and said, "Why are you grinning like that?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "No reason. I just realized that I don't ever have to buy you expensive gifts because you're quite content with some sort of junk food product."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, but the best type of present is a junk food product along with an expensive gift. You can never go wrong if you get both."  
  
"Two gifts are definitely better than one," Rory said.  
  
Luke smiled. He walked into the kitchen and returned a minute later with a glass of juice for himself. Lorelai ate the last bite, then pushed the plate toward him and said, "Finished. More pie, please."  
  
"No," Luke said, shaking his head.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "What? I said please!"  
  
"That was a big piece," Luke pointed out. "You can't still be hungry."  
  
"I didn't say I was hungry, I said I wanted pie," Lorelai said. "It's the addiction, Luke."  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm not feeding your addiction tonight," Luke said, taking her plate and putting it in the sink. Lorelai pouted as she picked up her mug and took a sip of coffee. "So, I suppose you want to go to the Founder's Day Festival this weekend?" Luke asked unenthusiastically.  
  
Lorelai nodded excitedly. "It's the first time in a long time that I'll have someone to go with. I mean, besides Rory," she said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Thank you," Rory said through a mouthful of pie.  
  
Lorelai looked at Luke curiously. "Why - do you not wanna go?"  
  
"I think that's a given," Luke said. "But we can go if you want to."  
  
"Are you sure?" Lorelai asked. "We don't have to."  
  
"You wanna go, we're going," Luke said. He paused a moment. "Wait, it's on Friday night."  
  
"Aw, shoot," Lorelai said, biting her lip. "Okay, well, I'll see if I can get the Friday night dinner moved up an hour or so and then I'll come by afterwards and we can go to the festival."  
  
Luke nodded. He paused a moment before he added quietly, "Or maybe I could go to dinner with you."  
  
Lorelai and Rory glanced at each other warily. "What?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'd like to go to one of those dinners," he said, reaching out and stroking her hand.  
  
"You can just stay home and light yourself on fire - it'd be more fun," Lorelai said with a laugh.  
  
Luke tilted his head and rolled his eyes. "I'm serious."  
  
Lorelai swallowed hard. "Uh, I don't know, Luke."  
  
"Just think about it," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Okay, I'll think about it."  
  
Luke nodded. "Good."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 15  
  
* * *  
  
After finishing their coffee, Lorelai kissed Luke goodbye, and she and Rory left the diner. As soon as they were out on the sidewalk, Rory said, "So?"  
  
Lorelai looked at her. "So what?"  
  
"So, are you gonna let him go to dinner with us?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. I really don't want him to, but he looks like he really wants to go."  
  
Rory nodded. "Yeah, he was really serious about it."  
  
Lorelai bit her lip. "I know. I don't know what to do." They walked along for a minute in silence before Lorelai let out a long sigh. "I just don't know how my mom's gonna act towards him, you know? I mean, she's said before that she's seen something between us, so she won't be shocked that it's him. . . "  
  
"But?" Rory prompted.  
  
"But. . ." Lorelai shrugged. "I know she's gonna try to tell me he's not good enough for me."  
  
"Ah," Rory said.  
  
"And plus, she's obviously gonna know that he's the guy I spent the night at her house with. She's gonna hold that against us for the rest of her life," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "I know it'll just turn out bad, I know it."  
  
As they walked up their front porch, Rory said, "Mom, you love him, he loves you - does it really matter what Grandma thinks of him?" She pushed open the front door and they walked inside.  
  
"No," Lorelai said. "I don't care what she thinks of him at all, that's not the point. The point is that my mom's not exactly the queen of subtlety, and I just don't want her to be rude to him or . . .I don't know. I just don't want Luke to feel bad." They paused in the hallway and stared at each other. "So, what should I do?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "Whatever you want."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and patted Rory on the shoulder. "Big help, thanks."  
  
Rory shrugged. "Sorry, I really don't know. Talk to Luke about it some more, explain to him why you don't want him to go. Maybe he'll change his mind," she said with a hopeful look.  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Huh, that's not a bad idea." Lorelai kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you."  
  
Rory smiled. "See, I helped, I just needed time."  
  
Lorelai smiled and walked toward the steps. "Night."  
  
* * *  
  
On Wednesday afternoon at the inn, Lorelai grabbed her empty coffee mug from the front desk and walked into the kitchen. "Hey Sookie," she said as she walked over to the coffee maker.  
  
"Hey honey," Sookie said. She removed a pan from the oven and set it on the stovetop, then turned around to face Lorelai. "How are - ouch!" Sookie exclaimed as her elbow banged against the corner edge of the counter.  
  
Lorelai grimaced with sympathy pain. "Ooh, you okay?"  
  
Sookie rubbed her elbow as she walked toward Lorelai. "Yeah, it's fine. It happened twice already this morning." Sookie sat on the chair at her small work table. "What's up? Slow morning?"  
  
Lorelai filled up her mug and walked over to her. "Yeah, not much work to do today." Lorelai propped herself up on the small wooden table. She stared down at the ground as she swung her legs back and forth.  
  
Sookie stared at the contemplative look on Lorelai's face. "So, I'm guessing you haven't decided what to do about Friday night dinner?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Luke brought it up again this morning."  
  
"Sweetie, you do know that you're slightly psychotic, don't you?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai turned her head to look at her. "Excuse me?" she said with a laugh.  
  
Sookie nodded. "You're making too big a deal about this. You'll go, you'll eat dinner, you'll talk, you'll leave. It's no big deal."  
  
Lorelai sighed. "But - "  
  
"And you said that you talked to him about it," Sookie pointed out.  
  
"I know, but - " Lorelai started.  
  
"And that he knows that it might not turn out perfectly but he still wants to go," Sookie finished.  
  
"I know, I know," Lorelai said with an exasperated sigh. "I just don't want my mom to ruin this, Sookie."  
  
Sookie stood up and smiled. "Honey, she's not gonna ruin anything. It doesn't matter what your parents think or what they say or how they act. You guys are in love, and nothing's gonna change it."  
  
Lorelai smiled shyly and shrugged.  
  
Sookie giggled and smacked her playfully on the shoulder. "See? I mean, if your mom says that she doesn't want you to date Luke, is that gonna change how you feel about him? Are you gonna listen to her?"  
  
"No," Lorelai replied. She stared straight ahead for a moment. "Okay, I'll bring him to dinner."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Good."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "How's Jackson? He's all moved in?"  
  
"Yup, just about," Sookie said. "He just needs to get a few things out of storage."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "So, how's it working out?"  
  
Sookie giggled. "Great, really great."  
  
"Aw, that's great, Sweetie," Lorelai said. "Let me know when you're ready to go wedding dress shopping."  
  
"Will do," Sookie said with a nod.  
  
Lorelai took a sip of coffee, then stood up. "Okay, I have to go make a call." She started walking toward the door.  
  
"See you later," Sookie said.  
  
Lorelai walked into the lobby and over to Michel at the front desk. "Michel, everything all right?"  
  
"Oh, you mean besides the fact that you lied and said that you'd be back in a second but you did not return for fifteen minutes?" Michel asked without looking up from the computer screen.  
  
"Yes, besides that," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Yes, everything is all right," he replied dryly.  
  
Lorelai walked to the other end of the desk and picked up the phone. She dialed, then twirled her finger in her hair nervously as it rang on the other end.  
  
"Hello?" Emily answered.  
  
"Mom," Lorelai said. "It's me."  
  
There was a brief pause on the other end. "Lorelai, hello."  
  
"Um, are you busy right now?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Well, I'm getting ready to go get my hair done," Emily replied.  
  
"Ah, right, it's Wednesday," Lorelai said. "Well, this won't take long. Uh, I don't know how you're gonna react to this."  
  
"What is it, Lorelai?" Emily asked, slightly annoyed.  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath. "Okay, listen Mom. . . there's a big festival here in Stars Hollow this Friday night that Rory and I really want to go to, and I was wondering if we could maybe move dinner up an hour or so."  
  
Emily let out a small sigh. "I suppose that would be fine," she replied. "I guess I'll see you at six."  
  
"Wait, wait Mom," Lorelai said quickly. "I'm not done."  
  
"There's something else?" Emily asked.  
  
"Um, yes," Lorelai said. She cleared her throat. "Um, Luke asked if he could come with me to Friday night dinner this week."  
  
"Luke?" Emily asked with surprise. "Luke, the diner man?"  
  
"Uh, yeah," Lorelai said. "Only he won't be attending as the diner man, but as. . . my boyfriend." Lorelai grimaced as she waited for Emily's reaction.  
  
"Your boyfriend?" Emily repeated, sounding even more surprised. "Luke is your boyfriend? You're seeing Luke?"  
  
"Yes, and he wanted to know if he could come to dinner on Friday," Lorelai said. "So, is that okay?"  
  
"How long has he been your boyfriend?" Emily asked.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "I don't know, Mom. Uh, about five weeks, something like that."  
  
Emily exhaled loudly. "So I'm assuming he was the man who . . ." her voice trailed off.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Mom, please forget about that, I'm begging you. Just put that out of your mind and never think about it again. Uh oh, look Mom, you're gonna be late for your hair appointment, so just tell me - is it okay if Luke comes?"  
  
Emily gasped. "My goodness, you're right. It's almost three."  
  
"Mom?" Lorelai prompted.  
  
"I suppose it's fine if he comes along, Lorelai," Emily replied. "Rory is still coming too, yes?"  
  
"Yes, all three of us will be there. Thanks Mom," Lorelai said. "Bye."  
  
"Goodbye," Emily replied.  
  
* * *  
  
That night after work, Lorelai walked into Luke's and glanced around the diner looking for Rory. She spotted her reading at a table by herself, and she walked over and sat down. "Hey you."  
  
Rory looked up from her book and smiled. "Hey."  
  
Lorelai looked around the crowded diner. "Man, how can you read in here?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "I tune things out." She put her bookmark in her book and placed it on the table.  
  
"I'm hungry. Where's Luke?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Rory glanced toward the counter. "I don't know. There's Jess, though." She waved toward Jess, who walked over to them. "Hey."  
  
"Hey," he said, nodding his head toward her.  
  
"Hey Jess," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hi," he said. "Uh, coffee?"  
  
"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "Is Luke here?"  
  
"He's in the kitchen. One of the regular cooks is sick," Jess said. "I'll be right back." He walked to the counter to get their coffee.  
  
"So, uh, I called my mom today," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory raised her eyebrows. "You did? For what?"  
  
"To ask if Luke can come on Friday," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory smiled. "Finally decided what to do, huh?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "It took me awhile, but yeah."  
  
"So, she said it's okay?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai nodded just as Jess arrived with their coffee. He placed the mugs on the table, then shrugged and said, "I guess I can take your order. What do you want?"  
  
"Burger and fries," Lorelai said.  
  
"Same," Rory said.  
  
"Uh, aren't you gonna write it down?" Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes at him.  
  
Jess tapped his head. "Well, I try to give it as little work to do as possible, but I think my brain can handle remembering two burgers and fries." He turned around and walked back toward the counter.  
  
Lorelai shrugged and turned to Rory. "Dinner's at six instead of seven on Friday so we'll have time to go to the festival afterwards."  
  
"Okay, good," Rory said. She bit her lip and looked down at the table.  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at her. "Something wrong?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "Just thinking about what happened during the last Founder's Day festival."  
  
Lorelai grimaced. "Why are you thinking about bad memories? Think happy thoughts. Think of how you got straight A's last semester. Think of how funny it was when Kirk tripped on our front porch last week. Ooh, think about that letter we got in the mail yesterday that told us we may already be a winner."  
  
Rory laughed. "Okay, okay, happy thoughts prevail, thank you."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You're welcome."  
  
Rory pushed a magazine towards Lorelai. "Oh, here, I picked this up for you on my way here."  
  
"Oh cool, thanks." Lorelai flipped slowly through the Entertainment Weekly. She stopped on a page and gasped. "Arthur died."  
  
"Arthur who?" Rory asked, trying to look at the page.  
  
"Arthur who?" Lorelai asked with surprise. "We've seen Arthur and Arthur 2 like a billion times each, and you say Arthur who?"  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "He has a real name, Mom."  
  
She frowned. "Had a real name," she mumbled. She glanced at the page. "Huh, Milton Berle died too. Man, how do I not know these things?"  
  
"Well, you haven't been watching much television lately and that's how you get most of your entertainment news," Rory pointed out.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "True." She closed the magazine and put it aside. She glanced up toward the counter, her eyes widening as she saw Luke walk out of the kitchen. She gave a small wave and he made his way over to their table.  
  
"Hey," he said. He leaned down and kissed Lorelai. "Did you guys order?"  
  
"Yup," Rory said. "Jess took it."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and sat down at their table. "Oh yeah? Then I wouldn't count on it being out any time soon since he never writes anything down and then he forgets to tell us what people want." He sighed and shook his head. He reached over and stroked Lorelai's hand. "So, how was your day?"  
  
"Good, it was good," Lorelai said. "Uh, I called my mom. She said you can come to dinner on Friday but only if you wear an evening gown with matching shoes, and a yellow beret instead of a baseball cap."  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "Really? You asked her?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yup, we have to be there at six."  
  
Luke smiled. "Good, thanks."  
  
"You're welcome," she said.  
  
"Hey, looks like he did remember to tell someone," Rory said, pointing at Jess as he walked out of the kitchen. He carried two plates over to them and placed them on the table.  
  
"Burgers and fries," Jess said.  
  
Luke looked up at him. "Who cooked those?"  
  
"I did," he replied with a shrug.  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "You did?"  
  
"Yeah, it's not exactly a difficult task, Uncle Luke," he said mockingly as he rolled his eyes. "Don't act so impressed."  
  
"Luke," Luke replied sternly. "Just Luke."  
  
Lorelai took a bite of her burger. "Mmm," she said, raising her eyebrows. She chewed her mouthful and said, "Wow, I think you should let him cook more often, Luke. This is pretty good."  
  
Jess smirked and walked away from the table. Luke stood up. "I better get back in the kitchen."  
  
"Okay. You're still coming over tonight, right?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, probably around eight."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay. See you later."  
  
"Bye Luke," Rory said.  
  
Luke nodded toward them and walked away.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Luke walked out of Lorelai's kitchen and down the hall to the living room. He wandered over to the mantle and looked at the many pictures that sat atop it. He picked one up of Lorelai and Rory taken just a few months earlier in front of the gazebo. He stared at it for several seconds and smiled to himself as he ran his finger over Lorelai's smiling face.  
  
"What are you doing?" a voice asked.  
  
Luke was startled. He looked up, surprised to see Lorelai standing only a few feet away, smiling at him. She walked over to him and looked at the picture he was holding. "Ugh, I look terrible in that picture."  
  
He placed it back on the mantle and rolled his eyes. "You say that about every picture of yourself but I have yet to see one bad photograph of you."  
  
She smiled. "Flattery will get you nowhere."  
  
He smirked. "Oh no? Well, then you look like crap in every picture I've ever seen of you."  
  
She laughed. "Very sweet, Luke. Thank you for that."  
  
Luke smiled. He walked over to the couch and sat down, and Lorelai walked over and sat on his lap. "Uh, there are like ten other places to sit in this room," Luke pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, but this is comfy," she said.  
  
"For you," he muttered, repositioning his body to get more comfortable.  
  
"Fine, I'll just go sit way over there in the armchair," Lorelai said, starting to get up. Luke put his hands on her waist and pulled her back down onto his lap. Lorelai smiled and leaned back against him. "Ha, see, you like it. Stop whining."  
  
Luke slipped his hands under the front of her shirt and ran them over her midsection, a habit that Lorelai had gotten used to. Whenever they were alone, he would glide his hands gently over the soft skin of her stomach, and Lorelai loved the feeling of calm it gave her. She gave a relaxed sigh and closed her eyes.  
  
They sat for several minutes in silence before Lorelai opened her eyes and asked, "Are you nervous about Friday night?"  
  
"Nope," Luke replied.  
  
"Not at all?" she asked, surprised. "Not even a little tiny bit?"  
  
"No, but you obviously are," Luke said with a laugh. "Why is this such a big deal?"  
  
"Because my mom's worse than Robert DeNiro in Meet the Parents, and I don't want you to be all nervous and feel like you have to impress them like Ben Stiller did because you saw how it caused all sorts of problems for him."  
  
"I'm not - ," Luke started.  
  
"But I guess it's a good thing that the chuppa's at my house 'cause it'll be pretty hard for you to burn it down all the way from Hartford," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Lorelai, stop worrying about it. It'll be fine."  
  
"What if she's rude or something and then she and I get into this great big fight about it?" Lorelai asked. "Then it'll be even more uncomfortable every time I go back there for dinner."  
  
Luke paused for a moment, then said, "So don't go back."  
  
"Ha!" Lorelai said, forcing a laugh. "I have to go for the rest of my life, Luke. You know that."  
  
"No, you only have to go as long as they're paying for Chilton, right?" Luke asked.  
  
"Right," Lorelai said. She rested her hands on top of his as they continued running over her stomach.  
  
"So. . ." Luke said. "If dinner somehow turns into World War three and you really don't wanna go back there, then I'll pay for Chilton."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Right."  
  
"I'm serious," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai turned her head around to face him. She stared at him for a moment, reading his facial expression. "What?"  
  
He nodded. "I have some money saved away. I can help you until you can afford it, or at least until you can find another way to pay for it."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "You're dead serious," she observed.  
  
"Yeah. I mean, this arrangement is a little ridiculous to begin with, if you ask me," Luke said, his voice getting louder. "You shouldn't have to go eat dinner every Friday night with people you rarely get along with just because you're borrowing money from them. It's like blackmail or bribery or something. They can't force you to do something you don't want to do just because - "  
  
Lorelai interrupted his rant by pressing her lips against his. Luke was surprised at first, but his lips immediately softened and kissed her back. Without breaking the connection of their mouths, Lorelai turned her body around on his lap so that she was facing him. She placed her hands on the back of his neck and ran her fingers through his hair as he rested his hands on her waist.  
  
She finally pulled back and smiled. "You do know that I would never in a million years let you pay for Chilton, don't you?"  
  
He shrugged. "Yeah, but I thought if the offer was out there you'd feel better about dinner."  
  
She smiled. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome," Luke replied.  
  
* * *  
  
That Friday night, Lorelai stood in front of her closet for ten minutes and finally let out an exasperated sigh. She walked to the doorway and hollered, "Rory, come help me pick out something to wear!"  
  
"Just a second!" Rory called from downstairs.  
  
Lorelai walked back to her closet and made a face at it. A minute later, Rory walked up the steps and stopped at the doorway of Lorelai's room. "You should go with the closest thing resembling Gwyneth Paltrow's Oscar dress."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Oh man, did I feel sorry for her boobs."  
  
Rory nodded in agreement. "It was definitely not their finest hour."  
  
Lorelai gestured for Rory to come into the room. She walked over to her and Lorelai draped an arm over Rory's shoulder. "Okay, just take a good long look at the closet. What jumps out at you?"  
  
Rory stared at the closet. "Hmm." Her eyes went back and forth over the jumbled assortment of clothes that were hanging down. She took a step toward the closet and pulled something out, then turned around and held it up. "This one."  
  
Lorelai looked at the short black dress with small beaded flowers along the waistline. "Ooh, that was actually on my maybe list."  
  
"Good, then maybe you should go put it on," Rory said, holding it out to her. "We're gonna be late."  
  
Lorelai smirked and grabbed it from her. "Thank you." She walked toward the bathroom. "Get me a pair of shoes please," she said over her shoulder.  
  
Rory picked out a pair of black heels and placed them on the bed, then wandered over to the vanity and sat down. Lorelai walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later wearing the dress. "What do you think Luke's gonna wear?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I told him he should get dressed up, so hopefully he realizes that the Paul Bunyan look, while sexy and appropriate for casual situations, isn't exactly the best evening wear."  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, they pulled up to the Gilmore mansion and stepped out of Lorelai's Jeep. Rory walked up to the front porch as Lorelai and Luke lingered by the car.  
  
Lorelai smiled as she ran her eyes up and down his black suit. "You look great," she said, straightening his tie.  
  
"So do you," Luke said. He kissed her, then smiled and took her hand. "Come on." They walked up to the porch.  
  
"Ready?" Rory asked. They both nodded, and Rory rang the doorbell.  
  
A few seconds later, the door opened and both Emily and Richard were standing there. "Good eve - " Emily started. Her eyes widened with surprise as she saw Luke. "Evening," she finished.  
  
"Hi Grandma, hi Grandpa," Rory said.  
  
"Uh, Mom, Dad, you remember Luke Danes, right?" Lorelai said, placing her hand on Luke's arm.  
  
Emily stared at Luke. "Yes." She paused and narrowed her eyes. "Is this him?"  
  
Lorelai looked at Luke and smiled. "Yeah, he cleans up nice, huh?"  
  
Luke extended his hand toward Emily. She smiled and shook her head slightly. "Why, I didn't even recognize you," she said, shaking his hand.  
  
"Good to see you again, Mrs. Gilmore," Luke said. "Mr. Gilmore," he added, shaking Richard's hand.  
  
"Yes, same here," Richard replied. "Please come in. Emily, you might want to stop blocking the doorway."  
  
Emily stepped back. "Oh, yes, I'm sorry. Please come in."  
  
They stepped inside, and Rory and Lorelai hung up their coats. Emily and Richard led the way to the living room, and the three guests followed. Luke and Lorelai sat down on one of the small couches, Rory sat next to them in an armchair, and Emily sat across from them on the other couch.  
  
Richard stood at the bar. "Okay, who wants a drink?"  
  
"Coke, please," Rory said.  
  
"White wine," Emily said.  
  
"Same," Lorelai said. She turned to Luke. "Drink?"  
  
Luke turned back toward Richard. "Uh, club soda's fine, thanks."  
  
Richard served the drinks, getting himself a glass of wine before sitting down next to Emily. "So, Luke, how's the business? I assume your establishment is doing well?"  
  
Luke cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes, it's doing very well. These two provide me with most of my income."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Well, he's the cutest waiter in town. That's why I insist we eat there everyday," she said, tapping Luke on his knee.  
  
Luke's face reddened slightly as he rolled his eyes at her. "I personally think it's because you're physically addicted to the burgers."  
  
She smiled. "Well, eating five a week will do that to a girl."  
  
"Oh, Lorelai, you shouldn't be eating that much red meat," Richard said knowingly. "It's all right in moderation, but you don't want to overdo it."  
  
"Richard's been reading some books about healthy eating so he thinks he's a nutritionist now," Emily said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Oh, you should talk to Luke. He won't eat anything unhealthy," Lorelai said. She took a sip of wine. "Oh, except whipped cream - but only if it's served a certain way," she added, smiling at Luke. "Right?"  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her, an embarrassed look on his face. He cleared his throat. "Uh, Rory, how's school going?" Luke asked.  
  
"Ah, yes, how is school?" Richard asked.  
  
"Oh, it's fine," Rory said. "I've got a few midterms next week . . ."  
  
As Rory continued talking about school, Emily nonchalantly stared at the couple across from her. Luke leaned in close to Lorelai's ear and whispered something to her. Lorelai giggled softly and nodded, then whispered something back to him. He smiled at her, then took a sip of his club soda. Emily brought her gaze down and noticed that their fingers were entwined. She took a sip of her wine and glanced over at Rory.  
  
". . . and my last one is Shakespeare, which should be pretty easy. I like that class," Rory finished.  
  
"I'm sure you'll do fine on all of them," Emily said. "So, let's move to the dining room, shall we?"  
  
"Yes, that's a good idea," Richard said. "Does anyone need a refill?" He walked over to the bar.  
  
"I'm good," Rory said.  
  
"I could use some more," Emily said, standing up.  
  
"Here, I'll get that," Luke said. He stood up and took Emily's glass from her.  
  
Emily raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Oh, thank you." She and Rory walked toward the dining room.  
  
Luke turned to Lorelai. "Do you need more?"  
  
She stood up. "Yes, please. I'll help you."  
  
Richard refilled his own glass and followed Emily and Rory into the dining room. Lorelai and Luke walked over to the bar. "I don't know what you were talking about, this is going fine," Luke said quietly as he poured out the wine.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "She must be feeling ill or something, she's definitely not being herself tonight."  
  
Luke rolled her eyes. "Or maybe you just exaggerate about how she really is." He refilled his own drink.  
  
Lorelai shook her head and laughed. "Oh, no no no. I don't lie about my mother, I swear. I have Rory to back me up if you need proof."  
  
"I'll believe it when I see it," Luke said. They picked up the glasses and walked to the dining room.  
  
"Here you are, Mrs. Gilmore," Luke said, placing her wineglass in front of her.  
  
"Thank you, Luke," Emily replied.  
  
Lorelai and Luke sat next to each other on one side of the table across from Rory. "So, what are we eating tonight?" Lorelai asked, placing her napkin in her lap.  
  
"Salmon," Emily said. "I hope you like salmon, Luke."  
  
"Oh, he loves salmon. It's his favorite fish. He keeps several of them in a huge tank in his apartment and he likes to sit and watch them swim around all day long," Lorelai said. "It's his favorite hobby. Well, besides that underground drug ring."  
  
The rest of the table rolled their eyes.  
  
"Lorelai," Emily said.  
  
"Just sit quietly," Luke said.  
  
"Yes, exactly," Richard agreed.  
  
Rory let out a small laugh as Lorelai frowned and took a sip of wine.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 16  
  
* * *  
  
They started off with salads, and then the maid brought out the main course. She served everyone a piece of salmon, then she placed several bowls containing side dishes around the table. "Thank you," Emily said. The maid nodded and walked back into the kitchen.  
  
"Pass the roasted potatoes, please," Lorelai said.  
  
"Can I have the green beans?" Rory asked.  
  
"Could you pass the rolls?" Richard asked.  
  
As they piled the side dishes onto their plates, Luke said, "These are nice dishes."  
  
"Why, thank you," Emily said. "Richard picked those up in . . .hmm, where was it Richard? Rome?"  
  
"Yes, I believe it was," Richard said. "It was for one of our anniversaries."  
  
"Oh really?" Lorelai asked. "Huh. And what year is the plate anniversary, Dad?"  
  
Richard rolled his eyes. "I believe I gave these to her along with a diamond broach, so I guess it was the plate and diamond anniversary."  
  
Emily nodded and smiled. "Yes, and he insists that he picked it out himself, that his secretary didn't even help him."  
  
"She didn't," Richard said, taking offense. "I have an eye for fine jewelry."  
  
Emily rolled her eyes. "So, Lorelai, you said there's a festival tonight?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, it's to celebrate the founding of Stars Hollow. There's a big bonfire and tons of decorations and food and stuff. It's fun."  
  
Luke groaned. "Fun's not the word I'd use to describe it."  
  
Lorelai nudged him with her elbow. "Oh, you know you're gonna love it."  
  
"What's the matter?" Emily asked. "Luke, you don't enjoy big celebrations?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "These festivals get pretty crowded and noisy. I'm not really into those kind of things."  
  
"Yes, I'd much rather sit in a quiet room in front of a fireplace than be at some noisy function with a bunch of people I don't know," Richard said.  
  
"Thank you," Luke said, turning to Lorelai. "See, your father is the same way."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Fine, you stay here with my dad and stare at the fireplace while I go to the festival."  
  
Emily smiled and turned to Rory. "And what about you? You're going too, I assume?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Dean and I are going together."  
  
"Ah, yes, Dean. How's that car holding up?" Richard asked.  
  
"Oh, it's great," Rory said, smiling. She started talking to Richard about it.  
  
Lorelai tapped Luke on the shoulder. "Luke, Rory's boyfriend made her a car."  
  
"I know," Luke replied.  
  
"So, when are you gonna make me one?" Lorelai asked.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Your car is fine. I'm the one who needs a new one."  
  
"What's wrong with your car?" Emily asked.  
  
"It's sort of rundown," Luke explained.  
  
"Sort of?" Lorelai laughed. "I've seen trucks come out of multiple car wrecks looking better than yours."  
  
"Okay, okay, don't mock it," Luke said.  
  
"It's this really old green truck from like 1950," Lorelai explained to Emily.  
  
"Oh, right," Emily said, looking down at her plate. "I remember Barbara describing it," she said. She pushed her potatoes around her plate aimlessly.  
  
Lorelai swallowed hard. "Oh geez," she said under her breath.  
  
"Barbara?" Luke asked, confused.  
  
Lorelai leaned over to Luke and whispered, "She's the neighbor who saw your truck out front when we were here."  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "Ah," he said quietly. Lorelai sat up straight and shoved a piece of her roll into her mouth.  
  
* * *  
  
After they finished their meals and the maid had cleared their plates from the table, Emily asked, "Anyone have room for dessert?"  
  
"Ooh, I do," Rory said excitedly.  
  
"You know what, we should probably save some room for the food at the festival," Lorelai said.  
  
"Oh yeah, I forgot," Rory said.  
  
"Oh. Well, do you have time for some coffee?" Emily asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "No, I think we really should - "  
  
"Oh, I think we have time," Luke interrupted. "We should stay for coffee."  
  
"But you don't even like coffee," Lorelai pointed out.  
  
"Well, good. He can join me for some brandy in my study," Richard said, standing up.  
  
"What a lovely idea," Emily said. "I'll ask the maid to bring out a coffee tray." She stood up and walked into the kitchen.  
  
Lorelai turned to Luke and forced a smile. "Okay, I guess we're staying a little longer then."  
  
"Don't worry, we'll make it in time for the stupid festival," he said, rolling his eyes.  
  
She patted his hand. "Fifteen minutes. Drink fast." He kissed her quickly on the cheek and followed Richard out of the room. Lorelai smiled as she watched him walk away, then she leaned toward Rory. "Hey, can you give me a minute alone with Grandma?" she asked quietly.  
  
Rory nodded just as Emily entered the room. Lorelai sat up straight and said, "Coffee's on it's way, Mom?"  
  
"Yes, it'll be right out," Emily said, sitting back down.  
  
Rory cleared her throat. "Uh, excuse me, I'll be right back. I just need to . . . uh, use the bathroom." Lorelai gave her a grateful smile as Rory stood up and walked toward the doorway.  
  
Lorelai turned to Emily. "Uh, Mom . . . I sort of wanted to. . .thank you."  
  
"Thank me?" Emily asked with surprise. "Thank me for what?"  
  
"For not turning this night into a disaster," Lorelai said. "Thank you for being so nice to Luke."  
  
Emily shook her head slightly. "I am capable of showing manners, Lorelai. You don't have to act so shocked every time it happens."  
  
"No, Mom, I just - " Lorelai started. The maid interrupted their conversation by entering with the tray of coffee. She placed it on the table between them. "Thank you," Lorelai said. The maid nodded and walked back into the kitchen.  
  
Lorelai turned back to Emily. "I don't mean just being polite to him," she continued. "I mean, I know you're still upset with me for being here at your house while you were away, and I . . ." She paused. "You could've really held that against us and made this night pretty damn miserable." Lorelai smiled. "But you didn't - so thank you."  
  
Emily shrugged. "You're welcome." She poured out two cups of coffee. After several sips in silence, Emily said, "You know, you probably don't want to hear me say this. . . but I like him, Lorelai. I was expecting a scruffy beard and a hat," Emily said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Tsk, you can't say that you like him just because he dressed up, Mom," Lorelai said. "You shouldn't judge people on how they look."  
  
Emily scoffed. "That's not why I said I like him, Lorelai," she said, getting defensive. "I can't say that he doesn't look much nicer all dressed up, but that's not the only reason I like him."  
  
"Oh no?" Lorelai asked, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"No, it's not," Emily said. She paused and took a sip of coffee. She leaned back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap. "He obviously likes you a great deal," she said softly.  
  
Lorelai looked down. She picked up her spoon and stirred her coffee casually. She nodded and said, "He does."  
  
"Mmhmm," Emily said. "And you obviously feel the same way."  
  
Lorelai brought her gaze up to meet Emily's. She smiled. "I do."  
  
"So why shouldn't I like him?" Emily asked with a shrug.  
  
Lorelai let out a small laugh. "Uh, because he doesn't wear business suits everyday, or, um, because he didn't go to private schools, or because he's not worth a billion dollars. I'm sure any one of these would be a basis for you hating him."  
  
Emily gasped, and Lorelai could tell that she was about to deny the accusation. Then Emily paused a moment and let out a small sigh. "When you told me you were dating him, those things did go through my head," Emily admitted. "I wasn't expecting to like this arrangement at all."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I knew it."  
  
Emily looked down at her coffee cup. "But then. . .I saw how you two were looking at each other."  
  
Lorelai tilted her head and smiled. "Wow, Mom, look at you letting your standards drop."  
  
"Hey, you just about ready to go?" a voice asked.  
  
Lorelai looked up and saw Luke and Richard standing in the doorway. She smiled and nodded. "Yup." She stood up and shouted, "Rory, we're leaving!"  
  
Emily winced. "Lorelai, yelling is certainly not necessary."  
  
Lorelai smirked. "Huh, never thought I'd hear you say that, Mom. It seems to be one of your favorite ways to communicate." They walked to the front door, where Luke helped Lorelai into her jacket as Rory walked out of the living room. Rory took her jacket from the coat rack and folded it over her arm.  
  
Luke turned to Richard and shook his hand. "Good to see you again."  
  
"Same here," Richard said. He wagged a finger at him. "Think about what I said."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at them as Luke smiled and said, "I will." He turned to Emily and extended his hand. "Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Gilmore."  
  
"Oh, please, call me Emily." She smiled as she shook his hand. "And you're welcome."  
  
Lorelai pulled open the front door. "Bye."  
  
"Bye Grandma, bye Grandpa," Rory said.  
  
They stepped out onto the porch, and as the door closed behind them, Luke turned to Lorelai and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Wow, I was so not prepared for that."  
  
He narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you talking about? Prepared for what? It went perfectly."  
  
"I know, that's what I wasn't prepared for. I'm still in shock," she said. He smiled and kissed her.  
  
* * *  
  
They pulled up to Lorelai's house almost forty-five minutes later. They climbed out of the car and Rory said, "I'm gonna go in and change my shoes first. These are bothering me. You guys go ahead, I have to stop at Dean's anyway."  
  
"Okay, maybe we'll see you there," Lorelai said. She laced her fingers through Luke's and they slowly walked toward the town square. "Are you gonna change first?"  
  
"Yeah, I don't particularly want everyone seeing me all dressed up," he said, loosening his tie.  
  
"Aw, why not?" Lorelai asked. "You look like a Ken doll."  
  
He groaned. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"  
  
"Absolutely. Ken's hot," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke shrugged. "Okay, then thanks."  
  
"You're welcome," she said. They walked a little more before Lorelai said, "Hey, what did you and my dad talk about?"  
  
"Oh, just business stuff. You know, portfolio investments, mutual funds, stuff like that," Luke said. "He gave me some tips."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Portfolio investments? Mutual funds?" she asked, her eyes widening with surprise. "What the heck? You have a portfolio?"  
  
"What, I don't look like a portfolio kind of guy?" Luke asked with a smile.  
  
She shook her head. "Definitely not. The complete opposite, actually."  
  
Luke tapped his forehead. "Trust me, there's a lot going on in here that would surprise you."  
  
Lorelai smiled and raised her eyebrows. "Hm, very interesting." A few seconds later, they had reached the town square, which was filled with people. The bonfire was already lit and tables of refreshments surrounded the gazebo.  
  
As they walked toward the diner, Lorelai glanced around the crowd and spotted Sookie and Jackson walking toward them. As they neared, Sookie raised her eyebrows at Luke. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Oh boy." Luke groaned.  
  
Sookie giggled and patted Luke on the shoulder. "Luke, look at you all dolled up!"  
  
"Got a big business meeting later tonight?" Jackson asked with a laugh.  
  
"Very funny," Luke muttered. He turned to Lorelai. "I'm changing now."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I'll be over there by the food," she said, gesturing to the tables.  
  
He nodded and walked into the diner. Lorelai smiled at Sookie and Jackson. "So, how are you guys? You been here all night?"  
  
"No, we got here like twenty minutes ago," Sookie said. "We had a late dinner because of someone." She rolled her eyes and nodded toward Jackson.  
  
"Yeah, someone," Jackson said, nodding toward Sookie.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "What happened?"  
  
Sookie sighed. "Ah, it's a long story that involves someone dropping the pan of chicken on the floor, and then someone going all the way to the store to buy more but forgetting to bring money."  
  
"So, I'm guessing you dropped the chicken," Lorelai said, pointing to Sookie. "And you forgot the money," she said, pointing to Jackson.  
  
Jackson nodded, then glanced past Lorelai and groaned. "Rune's causing trouble over there. I'll be right back." He walked away quickly, shouting, "Rune, leave that alone!"  
  
Sookie giggled. "I love it when he yells at Rune."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Come with me to get food."  
  
They walked toward the refreshment tables. "So, how was dinner?" Sookie asked.  
  
"Oh my God," Lorelai said excitedly. "It was great."  
  
Sookie's eyes widened. "Great? It was great?"  
  
"Great." Lorelai nodded. She picked up a cookie from the assortment in front of her and took a bite. She shook her head slightly. "Sookie, it was actually nice. I mean, my mom was. . .nice."  
  
"So. . .it was nice?" Sookie asked, smiling.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Everything was good. Luke and my mom got along fine, and he and my dad were talking about business or something. I think they were impressed with him."  
  
"Really? Impressed?" Sookie asked, surprised. "Your parents aren't easily impressed."  
  
"No, they're not," Lorelai said, shaking her head. She smiled. "But they like him."  
  
"Aw, that's great," Sookie said. She rubbed her hands together excitedly. "I'm so happy that it worked out so well."  
  
Lorelai smiled, then glanced at the rest of the refreshments. "Hmm, what do I feel like?"  
  
"There's pie over there," Sookie said, pointing to a table a few feet away.  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, let's go." They walked over to the table and Lorelai served herself a piece of pie. "You want some?"  
  
Sookie shook her head. "No thanks. I'm still full from dinner." They wandered over to an empty bench and sat down.  
  
A few seconds later, Luke walked over to them with a takeout cup of coffee. He held it out to Lorelai. "Here - if you're gonna drink something unhealthy tonight, I'd rather it be this than the punch."  
  
Lorelai smiled and took the cup. "Thank you." She took a sip and held the cup out toward him. "Can you hold it while I finish eating?"  
  
He rolled his eyes and took the cup. "I'm not a coaster, you know." Lorelai smiled up at him and shoved a forkful of pie in her mouth.  
  
Sookie stood up. "Here Luke, sit down. I can stand."  
  
Luke shook his head. "No, thanks, I'm fine. You sit," he insisted, pointing to the bench. Sookie shrugged and sat back down.  
  
Luke shoved his empty hand into his pocket as he held her coffee in the other. Lorelai glanced up at him, then she stood up. "Here, sit down. You're annoying me just standing there like that."  
  
"Fine, I'll take your coffee and wait over there by the market," he said, pointing.  
  
"Luke, sit," she said sternly.  
  
"Let me clarify - I'm not a coaster or a dog," Luke said. She gave him a look, and he sighed and sat down. She sat on his lap.  
  
Sookie giggled. "That looks comfy."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. The three of them talked as Lorelai finished her pie. She took her coffee from Luke and took a sip, then stood up and threw her plate in a nearby trash can.  
  
As she returned to the bench, Sookie stood up. "I better go make sure Jackson hasn't killed Rune."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Good idea. Don't let him go to prison until after the nuptials. See you later."  
  
Sookie walked away and Lorelai sat down next to Luke. He put his arm around her and she leaned against him. They stared at the bonfire and at the people walking by. After several minutes, Lorelai leaned her head against his shoulder. "My parents like you."  
  
"And why wouldn't they?" Luke asked. "I'm pretty darn charming."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "And humble - my two favorite qualities." They were silent for another minute before Lorelai said, "You were here with Rachel last year."  
  
"Yes I was," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai paused a moment. "Were you in love with her?"  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows, surprised. "What?"  
  
"Were you in love with her?" Lorelai repeated. "I mean, when she was here last year?"  
  
"Why are you asking me this?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai sat up straight and shrugged. "Just making conversation," she replied. "Uh, we can talk about something else. Oh, I bought that macaroni and cheese that you can make in the microwave. Let me tell you, it's nowhere near as good as the regular stuff, but the regular stuff is just too complicated. I mean, with having to add the milk and the butter and then all the mixing and everything . . . ugh, you have to be a professional chef or something to make that stuff come out right. Thoughts?" She tilted her head and bit her bottom lip.  
  
Luke stared at her for a moment, then he said, "No, I wasn't in love with her last year."  
  
Her eyes widened slightly. "Not at all?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"But you probably still love her as a friend, right?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke sighed loudly. "What is this, twenty questions?"  
  
"No, just ten," Lorelai said, smiling. "Come on, it's a fun game."  
  
He groaned. "Yeah, real fun. How about we put you on the spot now, shall we? Do you still love Max?"  
  
Lorelai's smile disappeared. "Okay, we can stop playing now." She turned her head away and stared at the bonfire. "The fire's pretty."  
  
Luke looked at her curiously. "Why won't you answer? Does that mean yes?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, not at all."  
  
"So what does it mean?" Luke asked. "It obviously means something."  
  
"It means that I hate this game and I don't wanna play anymore," she said quickly. "Let's play charades or freeze tag or anything else that makes me not have to answer any difficult questions."  
  
"Lorelai, it's a yes or no question. I wouldn't call it difficult," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai hesitated for a moment. She finally exhaled loudly and said, "I was never. . . in love with Max."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you talking about? But you were gonna marry him."  
  
She looked down and examined her fingernails. "I know." They both stared straight ahead in silence for several seconds. Lorelai slowly turned her head to look at him. "What? What are you thinking?"  
  
"Nothing," he said with a shrug. "Just looking at the fire. You know, bonfires are a real safety hazard."  
  
Lorelai sighed. "You're thinking why would I get engaged to someone I didn't love."  
  
He looked at her and shrugged. "Possibly crossed my mind."  
  
Lorelai shook her head toward the ground. "I don't know why. He loved me. I just. . .I really liked that feeling."  
  
"So that's why you got engaged to him?" Luke asked skeptically. "You never stopped to think that for the marriage to work, it might actually be necessary for you to love him back?"  
  
"Don't do that," Lorelai said, shaking her head.  
  
"Do what?" he asked.  
  
"Be condescending," Lorelai said, turning her head away. "I know I was stupid, don't rub it in."  
  
"I'm not being condescending. I'm just trying to figure out what happened," Luke said. "So. . . what happened?"  
  
She sighed. "I don't even know what happened. I finally realized that I wasn't in love with him. I was just in love with the idea of getting married, of having someone love me, of sharing my life with someone - but not him." She shrugged.  
  
Luke nodded. "So essentially all the jealousy I felt toward him was really unnecessary?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah."  
  
"Although he did get to kiss you before I did, so there's always gonna be a little residual jealousy," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "But you get to kiss me now, and I'm a much better kisser now than when I was with him."  
  
Luke laughed. "Oh yeah?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "You know, it improves with age." She leaned forward and kissed him, then rested her head against his shoulder.  
  
* * *  
  
On Wednesday night, Lorelai walked through the front door slightly after 9:30. She walked into the living room, where Rory was sprawled on the couch watching television. "Hey," Lorelai said. "Comfy?"  
  
Rory looked up, slightly surprised to see her. "Mom, hi. I didn't even hear you come in the door." She stood up.  
  
"I've been practicing my burglar skills," Lorelai said. "Now I know I'm skilled enough to rob my own house."  
  
Rory picked up the remote and turned off the television. "How was dinner?"  
  
"Good. I had fettucine alfredo," she said, holding up a takeout container. "There's some left if you want it."  
  
"Maybe tomorrow," Rory replied. Lorelai turned around and walked into the kitchen. Rory followed her. "Uh, Mom, I have to talk to you about something."  
  
Lorelai put the container in the fridge, then turned around. "Sure, what?"  
  
"Uh, well, Dad called tonight," Rory started.  
  
"Oh yeah, how's he doing?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Good, he's good," Rory said quickly. "Uh, and I mentioned to him that I had off from school next Friday, and he sort of. . . invited me to come up to visit for the weekend."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened slightly. "The whole weekend? Three whole days?"  
  
Rory nodded. "He said I could stay in the guest room, and that he and Sherry would show me around Boston. And he said that maybe we could go on a tour of Harvard, with a real tour guide and everything."  
  
"Ah, so he pulled out the big gun," Lorelai said with a smile. "So, I guess you wanna go?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "He told me to check with you first. I mean, I know three days is a long time so if you don't want - "  
  
Lorelai held up her hand. "Rory, it's fine. Go, it's no problem."  
  
Rory smiled. "Really? You're sure?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. You'll get to see his new place and everything, it'll be good for you guys to spend time together. Go. I'll even call him and tell him I'm okay with it."  
  
"You will?" Rory asked. She gave Lorelai a hug and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks Mom."  
  
"You're welcome," Lorelai said. As Rory walked back to the living room, Lorelai picked up the cordless phone from the counter and sat down at the table. She dialed Christopher's number.  
  
After several rings, he answered. "Hello?"  
  
"Chris, hey," Lorelai said.  
  
"Lorelai?" he replied.  
  
"Yeah, it's me," Lorelai said. "Uh, Rory just talked to me about this little trip that you've apparently got all planned out without so much as a mention to me about it."  
  
"Yeah, Lor, I'm sorry about that," Christopher said. "I just casually mentioned that it would be nice if she could visit. I really didn't mean to go behind your back like that."  
  
"Huh." Lorelai paused a moment, trying to determine if he sounded sincere. "Well, she really wants to go so I told her it was fine with me."  
  
"Really?" Christopher said, surprised. "Aw, Lor, that's great. Thanks. Really, this means a lot, thank you."  
  
"You're welcome," she replied.  
  
"Uh, let's see. Um, I think I'll pick her up on Thursday night," Christopher said. "That way we'll have all of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Then I'll drive her back down late Sunday afternoon."  
  
"Wow, that makes it seem like a really long time," Lorelai said, frowning.  
  
"It's only a few days," Christopher said. "She'll be back before you know it."  
  
Lorelai sighed. "I know. So, uh, call us next week to let us know when you'll be here and everything."  
  
"Okay, I will," Christopher replied. "And thanks, Lor."  
  
"You're welcome," she replied. "Bye." Lorelai hung up the phone and dropped it on the table. After exhaling loudly, she stood up and wandered into the living room. Rory looked up at her. "I called your dad and told him you're going. He's gonna pick you up on Thursday night."  
  
Rory smiled. "Really? Cool. Thanks Mom." Lorelai nodded and shifted her feet uncomfortably. Rory's smile faded as she stared at Lorelai. "You look sad. Mom, I don't have to go."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, I want you to go. I'm gonna miss you, but I really think you should go."  
  
Rory hesitated a moment, then said, "Okay." She smiled. "If you miss me too much you can go over to Grandma's house and stare at the near-lifelike portrait and talk to it like it's really me."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Yeah, that might - " She paused and grimaced. "Uh oh."  
  
"What uh oh?" Rory's eyes widened. "What's wrong?"  
  
"You're gonna miss Friday night dinner," Lorelai said. "She's gonna freak out, especially since you'll be with Sherry."  
  
Rory grimaced. "That definitely is an 'uh oh'. Shoot. Can you talk to her?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I'll try. I'll call her tomorrow."  
  
Rory nodded. "Thanks."  
  
Lorelai thought for a moment, then said, "I think I'm gonna go call Luke and then go right to bed. Night."  
  
"Night Mom," Rory replied.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai walked into Luke's and sat down at the counter with a loud sigh. Jess walked over to her. "You look happy," he commented.  
  
"Well, then I think you've got your interpretation of emotions a little confused," Lorelai replied.  
  
Jess shrugged. "My observation skills aren't as sharp as they used to be. Coffee?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Where's - "  
  
"He's upstairs," he interrupted. He turned around and poured a cup of coffee, then placed it in front of her. He watched her take a sip. "Does it suck?"  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Excuse me?"  
  
"The coffee," he said, pointing to the cup. "Does it suck?"  
  
"Oh, no, it's good," Lorelai replied. "Why?"  
  
"'Cause I had to make this pot myself and the last time I made it. . . .well, there were some complaints," he said with a shrug.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Well, you did good this time."  
  
"Good." Jess nodded and walked away.  
  
Lorelai sipped her coffee for a few more minutes before Luke walked down the stairs and into the diner. He walked over to her, and she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "You feeling better about Rory's trip?"  
  
"Still a little sad," Lorelai admitted. "You probably think I'm being crazy."  
  
He shook his head. "No, I understand. You don't like to be away from her. You'll be home all alone watching television while she's out having a good time in some other state with other people who aren't you."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Are you trying to make me feel better? It's not working."  
  
Luke smiled. "So that's why I was thinking that we. . . should go away that same weekend."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "What? You want. . .us to go away together?"  
  
"Yeah. I was thinking about it last night. I can get Caesar to cover the diner. We'll get away from here, we'll go to a nice hotel, stay the whole weekend. You won't even realize that Rory's up in Boston," Luke said.  
  
"Huh." Lorelai thought for a minute. "But you hate hotels," she pointed out.  
  
He shrugged. "I'll live."  
  
"But what about Jess?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I mentioned it to him this morning, he said he'd be no trouble," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai tilted her head and gave him a look.  
  
Luke smirked. "I threatened him and told him that if there were any complaints while we were gone, he'd be doing double shifts at the diner for no pay."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Good plan." She took a sip of coffee. "Mm, he did make good coffee today though. Gotta appreciate a kid who can make good coffee."  
  
Luke looked at the cup warily. "Let me know if you get sharp shooting stomach pains later today."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened and she put the cup down. "Finished."  
  
"So what do you say?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "Sure, why not? Let's go away together. Where should we go?"  
  
"I have a few ideas. I'll take care of everything." Luke smiled. "Feel a little better now?"  
  
She smiled. "Definitely. Good enough to eat breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, and bacon, please."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Geez. Okay, we're going somewhere where they only serve healthy food."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Well, that wouldn't really be in your best interest, Luke."  
  
"Oh no? Why not?" he asked with a smirk.  
  
"Well, because I wouldn't eat anything all weekend, and then I wouldn't have enough energy to do any other sort of . . . physical activity." She raised her eyebrows suggestively and smiled.  
  
Luke's eyes widened slightly. "Huh, good point."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 17  
  
* * *  
  
Later that morning, Lorelai stood at the front desk of the Independence Inn staring at the phone. As she tapped her fingers nervously on the desk, Michel shot her a dirty look. "That is very annoying," he said dryly.  
  
She stopped tapping and looked at him. "Michel, I don't know what to do. I was already nervous about having to get Rory out of dinner, but now I have to get myself out of dinner, too."  
  
"A terrible quandary. I wish I could help you, but I don't really want to," Michel said, walking away.  
  
"But I - ," Lorelai frowned at him. She took a deep breath and picked up the phone. She dialed slowly, part of her hoping that there'd be an emergency with one of the guests that would force her to hang up and call back later. She hesitated before she punched the last button. She finally wrinkled her nose and pushed it, then she sighed as she heard ringing. After several rings, Lorelai was about to hang up when she heard someone answer.  
  
"Hello?" Richard said.  
  
Lorelai was surprised. "Uh, Dad?"  
  
"Lorelai?" Richard asked.  
  
"Yeah, it's me," Lorelai replied. "Uh, I don't think I've ever heard you answer the phone before."  
  
"Well, your mother's out running some errands and the maid went shopping," Richard explained. "And a few weeks ago, I discovered that the fastest way to get the vexatious ringing to stop is to pick up the phone."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Well, good going, Dad."  
  
"Yes, well, I try to experience new things as often as possible," he said. "Did you want to talk to your mother?"  
  
"Uh, not really," Lorelai muttered.  
  
"Excuse me? I didn't quite catch that," Richard said.  
  
"Oh, it was nothing Dad," Lorelai said. "Um, I wanted to talk to Mom about dinner next week. . ." Lorelai paused a moment and smiled. "But maybe you can do your favorite daughter a huge favor and talk to her for me."  
  
"What about dinner? Do you have some sort of specific request?" Richard asked. "Our chef can make anything you want. She's very talented."  
  
"Uh, no, not exactly," Lorelai said. "See, the thing is that Rory's gonna go visit Christopher in Boston next weekend, and me and Luke are going away, too. So, uh, neither of us can come to dinner next week." Lorelai bit her bottom lip nervously. Richard didn't say anything. "Dad?"  
  
"Yes?" Richard asked.  
  
"Did you get all that?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm just trying to think of a scenario in my head in which your mother won't have a stroke when I tell her this," Richard said.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "I'm sorry, Dad. You don't have to talk to her, she'll just get mad at you. I can call her back later and - "  
  
"No, no," Richard interrupted. "I'll do it. Uh, perhaps I won't mention it until after tomorrow night's dinner though."  
  
"Ooh, good plan, Dad," Lorelai said. "Thanks."  
  
"You're welcome," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow night then?"  
  
"Sure will," Lorelai said. "Bye Dad."  
  
"Goodbye Lorelai."  
  
Lorelai hung up the phone and smiled to herself, then wandered into the kitchen. "Sookie, Sookie, Sookie," she said in a singsong voice. She walked over to her and patted her on the shoulder.  
  
"You sound a little too happy," Sookie said, smiling.  
  
"That's because I just convinced my dad to talk to my mom about us missing dinner next week," Lorelai said. "So now I don't have to do it."  
  
Sookie's eyes widened. "Ooh, nice."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. She clapped her hands together a few times. "Ah, I'm so excited!"  
  
Sookie giggled. "I can tell. Did he tell you where you're going yet?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Nope. And part of me wants to know right now, but the other part of me doesn't really care where it is. I mean, we could spend the weekend at a hotel in Hartford and it'd be fine with me. I just need to get away anywhere."  
  
Sookie nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean."  
  
Lorelai was quiet for a moment. "You don't think it's too soon for us to go away together, right? I mean, we'll be together for like. . .I don't know, seventy hours straight. Are we ready for that?"  
  
Sookie smiled. "I think you're totally ready for it."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "But these weekend getaways can really break a relationship."  
  
"No, they can really break an unstable relationship," Sookie corrected her. "You guys are far from unstable."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You think so?"  
  
Sookie nodded. "It'll be fine." She smiled. "Ooh, you should go shopping and buy some new lingerie or something."  
  
Lorelai's eyes lit up. "Oh, good idea! You wanna go out this weekend?"  
  
"Absolutely." Sookie giggled. "Although, it's kind of a waste of money since you probably won't be wearing it very long."  
  
Lorelai smirked. "Bye Sookie."  
  
* * *  
  
On Saturday afternoon, Lorelai and Sookie walked into the diner carrying several bags from their shopping excursion. They sat down at a table, and it was only a few minutes before Luke walked over. He leaned down and kissed Lorelai, then eyed the shopping bags suspiciously. "What did you buy?"  
  
"It's all stuff for you," Sookie said, smiling.  
  
He groaned. "Me? What is it? Please tell me you didn't buy me new clothes," he said, trying to look in the bags.  
  
Lorelai smiled and gently pushed him away. "No, they're not new clothes for you, but you can't see what they are. It's a surprise."  
  
"I hate surprises," Luke reminded her.  
  
"Ah, I think you'll like this one," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows. "Maybe you didn't see the name on the side of the bag." She picked up the Victoria's Secret bag and held it up.  
  
Luke smiled. "Okay, this might be one of those rare surprises that I actually like."  
  
Lorelai smiled as she put the bag down. "So, tell me where we're going."  
  
"Yeah, where are you going?" Sookie asked excitedly.  
  
Luke smirked. "You sure you don't wanna be surprised?" He turned around and walked toward the counter.  
  
Lorelai jumped up and followed him. She put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around. "No, I hate surprises too. Tell me, please."  
  
He shrugged. "Fine, I'll tell you. I made reservations at the Mystic Marriott Hotel and Spa in Groton."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened with surprise. "Hotel and spa? No, you didn't!" she exclaimed excitedly.  
  
Luke smiled. "Yup, I did. From Thursday night to Sunday morning."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Luke, oh my God!"  
  
He smiled at her excitement. "Yeah, they have a ton of stuff right at the hotel. A restaurant, indoor pool, gym, massage rooms, sauna, things like that. And I booked the room with a king-sized bed and an oversized whirlpool tub right in the room. Plus, there's a coffee shop right in the hotel," he added, rolling his eyes. "And that's pretty much all you need."  
  
Lorelai's mouth dropped open. "Oh my God. That sounds amazing! Wow. . . that's gonna be so . . . wow." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. She pulled back and said, "But - I mean, all that spa stuff. . .I know you don't like stuff like that."  
  
He shrugged and took one of her hands into his. "Well, if you wanna get a massage or something, I'll just hang out in the room or go to the gym for a little while. It's no big deal."  
  
"Wow, you sure do know how to spoil a girl," she said, smiling. She ran a hand over his cheek. "It sounds incredible. Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome," he said. He kissed her softly, then wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too," she replied, hugging him back tightly. She glanced over at Sookie, who was smiling at them. Lorelai pulled back and said, "Uh, we'll have a couple of burgers," she said, gesturing to the table.  
  
Luke nodded. "Okay, they'll be right out." Lorelai walked back over to the table and sat down.  
  
"Okay, spill it," Sookie said, drumming her hands on the table. "Did you find out where you're going?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Listen to this - The Mystic Marriott Hotel and Spa. Doesn't that sound fabulous? I think he said it's in Groton. We're going from Thursday to Sunday."  
  
Sookie gasped and clasped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God!"  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at her. "What? What's wrong?"  
  
Sookie smiled and lowered her voice. "Lorelai, you better be pretty darn nice to him. Jackson and I came across a brochure for that place a few weeks ago, and lemme tell you, it's not cheap."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Really? How much is it?"  
  
Sookie shrugged. "Well, I think some of the rooms are over two hundred bucks a night."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "You're kidding me!" she whispered loudly.  
  
Sookie shook her head. "Nope, it's a really nice place."  
  
Lorelai stared into space for a moment, then leaned forward and said, "So he might be spending over six hundred dollars just on the room alone?"  
  
Sookie shrugged. "I don't know, maybe he got a deal or had a coupon or something."  
  
Lorelai sat back in her chair. "Wow. And, I mean, that's probably not including all of our meals and stuff, right? Oh God, this is gonna cost him a fortune, Sookie. That's just. . .plus, he's probably not even gonna use the spa part, just me. I can't believe he did that," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.  
  
Sookie smiled at her. "He loves you. He wants you to have a good time."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I know. Let me tell you, we're gonna get our money's worth out of that king-sized bed."  
  
* * *  
  
On Thursday afternoon, Rory carried her suitcase out of her bedroom and set it by the front door next to her duffel bag. Lorelai took a bottle of water from the fridge and walked into the front hallway. "Here, take this for the ride."  
  
"Oh, good idea, thanks," Rory said. She set it next to her stuff and checked her watch. "Dean should be here any minute to say goodbye." Rory walked into the living room and picked up her wallet from the desk. Lorelai walked over and gave her a hug.  
  
Rory smiled. "Mom, that's the fifth hug you've given me in the past twenty minutes."  
  
Lorelai hugged her tighter. "I know, I can't help it, I'm gonna miss you."  
  
Rory pulled back from her. "Mom, you're gonna be having such a great time with Luke that you're not even gonna notice I'm not there."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Not true."  
  
Rory smiled. "It's totally true, you'll see. This weekend's gonna fly by."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Don't forget to call me everyday. I'll leave the cell on. And call from a room where they can't listen to you because I wanna know all the dirt."  
  
Rory smiled. "Got it."  
  
Lorelai reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a handful of bills. "Here, I know your dad's probably gonna offer to pay for everything anyway, but here's a little spending money."  
  
Rory smiled and took the money. "Thanks. I'll try not to spend it all." She glanced out the window. "Luke's back."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "He is? That was fast." She looked out the window and saw him walking up the front porch. She walked to the front door and pulled it open before he had a chance to knock.  
  
Luke was startled. "God, you almost gave me a heart attack," he grumbled.  
  
"Sorry," Lorelai said quickly. "I'm just excited." She looked at his outfit and nodded approvingly. He had altered his regular look slightly, keeping the T-shirt and jeans, losing the baseball cap and plaid shirt, and adding a leather jacket. "You look good. You picked up your bags, right?"  
  
"Yeah, they're in the car, and I also stopped at the gas station. You were on empty," he said. He stepped into the house. "Where're your bags? I'll load them in the car now."  
  
"They're upstairs," she said. "I'll help you bring 'em down."  
  
"No, I'll get them," Luke said, walking past her and up the stairs. A few seconds later, Lorelai heard, "Oh my God!" Luke's voice bellowed through the house. "Lorelai! We're going for three days, not three years!"  
  
Lorelai walked into the living room and grimaced at Rory. "I told you you were packing too much," Rory said, shaking her head.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I have to be prepared for all situations."  
  
"Lorelai!" Luke called from upstairs. "Come up here please!"  
  
Lorelai sighed as she climbed up the stairs. She found Luke at the top of the steps with his arms folded across his chest. Lorelai stopped a few feet away from him. "Yes, dear?" she said mockingly.  
  
Luke pointed into the bedroom. "Go in there and condense those three suitcases into two. We are not bringing that much junk with us."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "It's not junk, Luke. I need all that stuff."  
  
"Two suitcases," he repeated sternly.  
  
She frowned. "I have to be prepared for - "  
  
"Two suitcases," he interrupted.  
  
She pouted and sauntered over to him. She uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on her waist. She kissed his cheeks several times before pressing her lips against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck as her tongue separated his lips and found its way into his mouth. A short moan escaped his throat as their tongues glided over each other and the kiss deepened with passion.  
  
As they broke apart, both of them were heaving to catch their breaths. "Two. . . suitcases," Luke said in between his deep breaths.  
  
"How about two and a duffel bag?" Lorelai said through her own panting.  
  
"Deal," he replied. He pressed his lips against hers again, then pulled back and said, "Hurry. Call me when you're done."  
  
Lorelai smiled and walked into her bedroom as Luke walked downstairs.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Lorelai walked downstairs with a duffel bag and a garment bag. Luke and Rory were both sitting on the couch. "Okay, two suitcases are up there waiting for you, meanie," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke stood up. "Thank you."  
  
He walked upstairs as Lorelai sat down next to Rory. "So, what'd I miss?"  
  
"Uh, not much. Dean stopped by to say goodbye, then he had to go to work," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai nodded. They heard a noise on the stairs, and they both looked over and saw Luke carrying the two overstuffed suitcases down the steps. "Lorelai, if these burst open in the middle of the hotel lobby, I hope you know that I'm not gonna help you pick everything up."  
  
"Don't worry, a fancy place like that probably has special employees who just stand there and wait for suitcases to pop open so they can help people," Lorelai said. She jumped up off the couch and rushed to the front door to pull it open for him. Luke walked out and she followed him onto the porch just as Christopher pulled into the driveway. He honked the horn and waved to her.  
  
"Rory, your dad's here!" Lorelai called. Noticing Sherry in the passenger seat, she mumbled, "And the psycho fembot he calls his girlfriend."  
  
Rory rushed out of the house and ran over to the car. Rory hugged Christopher tightly as Lorelai walked over to them. Lorelai gave Christopher a casual hug, then greeted Sherry as Luke walked over to them.  
  
"Uh, Luke, you remember Christopher?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah, how's it going?" Luke said, extending his hand.  
  
"Good, it's going good, thanks," Christopher said, shaking his hand. "Uh, this is Sherry."  
  
Sherry extended her hand. "It's so nice to meet you."  
  
Luke shook her hand. "Yeah, same here."  
  
"Okay, let me just get my stuff," Rory said, walking toward the house.  
  
"Oh, here, I'll get it," Luke said, following her.  
  
"No, that's okay, I'll get it," Christopher said, following him.  
  
Lorelai folded her arms in front of her uncomfortably as she looked at Sherry. "So, uh, do you wanna come in for a drink before you guys leave?"  
  
"Oh, no, that's okay. We were gonna stop somewhere for dinner on the way home," Sherry said. "Maybe I could use your restroom, though?"  
  
"Oh, sure, come on in," Lorelai said. She turned around and walked toward the house as Luke and Christopher both walked out carrying some of Rory's luggage. Lorelai showed Sherry to the bathroom, then walked back out front. Luke and Christopher stood talking at the edge of the yard. Sherry walked out, thanking Lorelai as she walked past her and over to the car.  
  
A few seconds later, Rory walked out of the house carrying her jacket, her duffel bag, and a bottle of water. She and Lorelai walked halfway down the yard. Rory set her things down on the lawn and gave Lorelai a hug. "Bye Mom. Have fun."  
  
Lorelai hugged her back tightly. "You too. Don't forget to call me." She gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Love you."  
  
"Love you too," Rory said. Luke walked over to them as they broke apart from their hug.  
  
"Bye Rory, have a good time," Luke said, smiling.  
  
"Thanks. Good luck putting up with Mom for three days," Rory said with a laugh. She gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. "Bye Luke." She picked up her stuff and walked toward the car.  
  
Luke, surprised by her affection, reached up and unconsciously touched his cheek. "She just. . ."  
  
Lorelai smiled at him and said quietly, "Luke, don't be so shocked. You're like a father-figure to her. She loves you."  
  
Luke's eyes widened slightly and he smiled. "Huh."  
  
Lorelai walked over to the car as Christopher and Sherry got in. Rory put her stuff in the backseat, then turned around and hugged Lorelai one more time. "Bye Mom."  
  
"Bye hon," Lorelai said. Rory climbed into the car. Lorelai stepped up to the driver's window and leaned down. "Now, she's a little rambunctious sometimes, so make sure she takes her Ritalin or she's just gonna get too out of control."  
  
Christopher laughed. "Okay, got it. Anything else?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Take good care of her."  
  
Christopher smiled. "We will. Bye Lor."  
  
"Bye." Lorelai stepped back from the car. Luke walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She placed her hands on top of his as the car backed out of the driveway. She smiled and waved at Rory as it pulled away.  
  
When the car disappeared from her view, she turned around and hugged Luke. "I miss her already," she said sadly.  
  
Luke rubbed her back. "I know, me too. Come on, let's go. You need anything else from the house?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. They walked inside. As Luke checked to make sure the doors were all locked, Lorelai collected her duffel bag and garment bag from the living room, then grabbed her purse and jacket from the front hallway. "You have the keys?" Lorelai called.  
  
Luke walked out of the kitchen holding them up. "Yup, let's go." They walked out of the house and locked the front door. They climbed into the Jeep and Luke started the car.  
  
"Oh, hey, can we stop at the diner and get some coffee?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "What happens if I say no?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Well, then this weekend you will become involuntarily celibate."  
  
Luke sighed. He drove to the diner, and Lorelai got out and walked inside. She walked up to Jess at the counter. "Coffee to go, please."  
  
"Aren't you supposed to be on a trip?" Jess asked.  
  
"Yup, we're just about to leave," Lorelai said. "What are you doing while you have the apartment all to yourself? Throwing a party?"  
  
"Yeah, the strippers are already up there waiting for me," he said, turning around to get the coffee.  
  
"Wow, you didn't waste any time getting 'em over here," Lorelai said, giving an impressed nod.  
  
"I'm very efficient," Jess said. He placed the lid on the cup and set it in front of her.  
  
"Thanks," she said. She dropped a couple of bills on the counter. "Keep the change."  
  
"Thanks." He opened the register. He put in the amount of the coffee and stuck the rest into his pocket. Lorelai picked up her cup, but hesitated a moment before walking away. "What?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "Something on my face?"  
  
She shook her head. "You know, Jess, Luke is really putting a lot of trust in you this weekend," Lorelai said.  
  
"I know that," he said, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
"So, you know. . . just please don't make him regret it," she said, giving him a hopeful look. "Please?"  
  
He shrugged. "I'll try."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Good. Bye." Jess nodded toward her and walked away. Lorelai walked out of the counter and got into the Jeep.  
  
"Geez, took you long enough. Did you have to wait for the shipment of coffee beans to arrive from Columbia?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled and stared straight ahead. "Just drive, Luke." Luke pulled away from the diner. "Are you sure you know how to get there?"  
  
"Yeah," Luke said. "It's only like an hour away. It's easy."  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, the Jeep was pulled over on the side of the road while Lorelai looked at a map. "You obviously took a wrong turn somewhere," she said.  
  
"I know that much," Luke said, taking the map from her.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "I told you to ask for directions at that gas station, but noooo. . . you had to pull the old 'I'm a guy, I can't ask for directions' routine."  
  
"I told you I can figure it out myself," Luke mumbled, staring at the map.  
  
"Yes, and I have complete faith in you that you can figure it out, but can't we just pretend that you would've eventually figured it out and speed up the process by getting someone to tell us?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke shook his head. "Nope, I'll figure it out myself."  
  
Lorelai sighed and leaned back against the seat. She folded her arms across her chest and stared out the window, noticing a 7-11 down the road. She stared down at her empty coffee cup, then turned to Luke. "Hey, how about while you're figuring it out, you pull up the road to that 7-11 so I can get some coffee. Please?"  
  
Luke sighed. "Fine. Hold this," he said, handing her the map. He drove down the road and pulled into the parking lot. She handed the map back to him, then got out of the car. She walked inside, and Luke watched her through the window as she fixed herself a cup of coffee, then walked up to the counter. She paid for it, then she started talking to the clerk. He saw the clerk point out the window a few times before Lorelai smiled and walked away.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes as she walked out of the store and climbed into the Jeep. "Did you just ask for directions?"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "No! I can't believe you think that I don't trust you enough to figure this out. I have complete faith in you."  
  
Luke sighed. "So what did he say?"  
  
She smiled. "That you missed the turn for I-95 north, and that you just have to go back down this road the way we came and you'll see signs for it."  
  
"I would've figured that out," he muttered, folding up the map.  
  
Lorelai patted him on the shoulder. "I know, honey, I know," she said, frowning sympathetically. "I just didn't want to starve to death while I was waiting for you to do so."  
  
"Hmph," Luke grumbled as he pulled out of the parking lot.  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, they pulled up in front of the hotel. "Oh my God," Lorelai said, her eyes widening. "This looks like a castle or something."  
  
Luke was just as impressed. "Wow. This place is huge."  
  
"Are you sure you don't have to be a member of the Royal Family to come here, Luke?" Lorelai asked.  
  
He smiled. "I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised though." Luke pulled up near the door where other guests were unloading their luggage. "Here, we'll unload the bags and I'll go park the car."  
  
"I think they have valet," Lorelai said, looking at the other cars.  
  
"I'm perfectly capable of parking the car," Luke said. "I don't need a stranger doing it for me."  
  
"Okay, okay," Lorelai said, waving him off. "Let's go in."  
  
They climbed out of the car, and a concierge immediately brought over a cart and helped them unload their luggage. Lorelai waited with the concierge inside the lobby for Luke to park the car. A few minutes later, he walked into the hotel, glancing around impressively at the high ceilings and expensive furnishings. He took Lorelai's hand and they walked to the front desk to check in.  
  
Several minutes later, the concierge brought them and their luggage up to their room. He unloaded their bags off the cart for them, then stood by the door. "Thanks a lot," Luke said, handing him a tip.  
  
"Thank you sir. Have a pleasant stay," he replied, nodding toward them as he pulled the door shut behind him.  
  
When he was gone, Lorelai threw her arms around Luke's neck and hugged him tightly. "Oh my God, look at this place! We could get lost in this room!" She pulled back from him and grabbed his hand, leading him around the room and pointing out everything. "Here's the living room. . . there's the kitchen area with a fridge and microwave. Ah, it better have a coffee maker. Ooh, it does. Okay, good. What's this?" She pushed open a door. "Wow, look at the size of this bathroom. This is bigger than your apartment, Luke." She laughed. "Oh my God, look at that tub!" she exclaimed. "It's amazing."  
  
Luke smiled at her excitement. "It's nice," he agreed.  
  
She nodded excitedly. "Come on." She pulled him out of the bathroom back into the main room. She stopped in front of the bed. "Oh my God. That's the biggest bed I've ever seen."  
  
Luke laughed. "It's definitely a lot different than my single bed."  
  
Lorelai collapsed onto it. "Oh my God, it's so comfy. Come on, feel it."  
  
Luke fell onto it next to her. "Whoa, that is nice." He reached down and clasped his hand around hers. He turned and smiled at her. "You're beautiful."  
  
She smiled and kissed him. "So are you. Uh, or you might want to substitute a less feminine word that means the same thing."  
  
He smiled. "Thank you." They both sat up and looked around at the huge room. "This is incredible."  
  
"Look at the size of the television," Lorelai said, pointing to it. "Look at . . . just look at everything. It's amazing here. I think I'd like to live here permanently."  
  
He laughed. "Yeah, well, that's not exactly in the budget, but I'll work on it."  
  
She stood up. "Okay, let's unpack and then go get some dinner. I'm starving."  
  
Luke stood up. "Yeah, me too."  
  
Lorelai patted the bed. "Don't worry bed, you'll get plenty of attention after dinner." She looked at Luke and smiled. "That is, of course, unless you had other plans."  
  
Luke smiled and pulled her into a hug. "Uh, no, that's pretty much the only plan I had for the entire weekend."  
  
Lorelai laughed and kissed him. "Sounds good to me."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 18  
  
* * *  
  
Lorelai wandered over to the work desk in the corner of the room and found a stack of brochures. She picked one up and flipped through it. "Huh, this is a brochure of all the services they have here." She picked up another one. "Here're some restaurants and things to do in the area." She picked up a third. "Ooh, the room service menu."  
  
Luke walked over to her. "Do you want room service or do you wanna go down to the restaurant?"  
  
She thought for a moment. "Hmm, restaurant. I wanna get all dressed up," she said excitedly.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "How did I know you were gonna say that?" he muttered as he walked away. She flipped quickly through the rest of the brochures, then walked over to the pile of luggage.  
  
They unpacked their bags, unloading all of their clothes into the bureau and closet. Lorelai took her bag of toiletries into the bathroom and started lining them up on the counter. Luke walked in and his eyes widened. "Oh my God. You trying to start your own cosmetics store?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You're mocking now, but you should know that this is only half of my stuff. Rory convinced me not to bring everything."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. "Remind me to thank her later." He picked up some of the bottles and looked at the labels. "You don't need all this crap." He picked up one of her compacts and opened it up. His eyes widened. "Okay, this one you need."  
  
Lorelai looked at it and laughed. She grabbed the compact of pills and closed it. "Yeah, unless you want me to exchange my new lingerie for maternity clothes." She unloaded the last few items and tossed her bag on the floor. "Okay, all done."  
  
"Finally," Luke muttered. He turned around and walked out of the bathroom. "What should I wear?"  
  
She thought for a moment. "Hmm, black pants with one of your suit shirts."  
  
He made a face. "A suit shirt? Are you kidding?"  
  
She shook her head. "It's a really nice restaurant, Luke. Look at the pictures in the brochure over there," she said, pointing to the desk.  
  
Luke groaned. "All right, I'll wear the stupid suit shirt. What are you wearing?"  
  
She walked over to the closet and unzipped her garment bag. She pulled out a navy blue dress and held it up in front of herself. "This."  
  
"Hmm, nice," he said, nodding approvingly. He pulled his black pants and a suit shirt out of his drawer, then walked into the bathroom.  
  
Several minutes later, the door opened and Luke walked out. Lorelai was already dressed and was sitting in an armchair. She stood up and walked over to him, smiling. "See, I just don't understand why you hate dressing up so much when you always look so good." She ran her hands across his chest, smoothing out his shirt.  
  
Luke looked down at his outfit. "Because I feel like a banker and I hate bankers."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I promise you that you don't look like a banker." She kissed him. "I have to touch up my makeup, then we can go."  
  
* * *  
  
Thirty minutes later, they were sitting in the hotel restaurant. Lorelai was buttering a roll as Luke finished up his salad. She glanced around at the surrounding tables, then brought her gaze back to Luke and smiled. "This is really great."  
  
Luke nodded. "Fancy hotels aren't usually my thing, but. . ." He glanced around the room and smiled. "But this is really nice."  
  
Lorelai broke off a piece of her roll and put it in her mouth. She chewed it slowly, then asked, "What do you wanna do tomorrow?"  
  
He shrugged. "I haven't thought about it. You?"  
  
She shrugged. "I don't know. There's so much to choose from. Get a massage, take a steam in the sauna. . . ooh, we can relax in the pool. You brought a bathing suit, didn't you?"  
  
"Yeah, but I'm not going in the pool," Luke said, shaking his head.  
  
"What? Why not?" Lorelai asked, disappointed.  
  
He scoffed and looked at her in disbelief. "Because public pools are a breeding ground for microorganisms and pose a severe risk for infections. I'm not exposing myself to that bacteria, and you really shouldn't either."  
  
"This isn't a public pool, Luke," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like it's in the middle of a town where anybody can go in it. It's at a luxury hotel and spa - a place that can definitely afford to keep it as thoroughly clean as possible."  
  
"There's still a risk," Luke said knowingly.  
  
"You really won't come in with me?" she asked, frowning. He shook his head. "How 'bout if I beg? Pout? Whine? Cry?"  
  
He shook his head continually at all of her suggestions.  
  
She sighed. "Come on, what'll make you go in with me? I'll do anything you want."  
  
He paused for a moment, then his lips formed into a small smile. "Anything?"  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Are you thinking something dirty?" She narrowed her eyes and wagged a finger at him.  
  
He shook his head. "You remember what we passed on the way here, a few miles back? I believe you sarcastically remarked that I'd probably move there if I could," he said, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai thought for a moment, then she grimaced. "No way, don't make me," she whined.  
  
Luke laughed. "Yup."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Come on, there's gotta be something else I can do."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Nope, that's the only way you'll get me in the pool. Deal?"  
  
She made a face. "Fine." Lorelai let out a loud sigh and mumbled, "I'll go to the stupid batting cages with you."  
  
Luke smiled. "Good, and I'll go in the bacteria-infested pool with you."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "My part of the deal involves more physical activity. That's not fair. I'm gonna be so sore."  
  
He shrugged. "But then you can come back here and get a massage, so it'll all work out."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Huh, good point." She smiled and took a sip of wine.  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, they returned to their room, and Lorelai groaned as they walked through the door. "Ugh, I ate too much."  
  
"I told you not to have that piece of cake," Luke said pointedly. "You should've listened."  
  
"Yeah, but you didn't tell me not to have it because it would make me feel sick, you told me not to have it because it was unhealthy," Lorelai pointed out. "So you don't have a right to the 'I told you so' this time."  
  
"But no matter how you interpret the motives behind me telling you so, the general point remains that I did tell you so," Luke said.  
  
She frowned at him. "Okay, it doesn't matter. Let's just -." Lorelai was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. She quickly fumbled through her purse and pulled it out. "Hello?" Lorelai answered. She smiled. "Hey! How was the car ride?. . . Good. . . .Well, that doesn't surprise me. . . You did?" Lorelai laughed. "Good girl. . . . Yeah. . . Uh huh. . . Oh, it was good." She lowered her voice. "He got a little lost."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes at her. "I would've figured it out," he muttered.  
  
Lorelai smiled at him as she talked to Rory. "Oh my God, it's beautiful . . .It's like the room in Pretty Woman, I'm not kidding. I feel like a hooker. . . Yeah. . . Okay. . . Have fun tomorrow. . . Call me tomorrow night. . . Love you too. . . Bye." Lorelai hung up the phone and put it back in her purse, then smiled at Luke. "She's fine."  
  
"Good." Luke smiled. "What did she say?"  
  
"Um, that the ride was good, but that Sherry kept trying to make conversation with her, so Rory finally pretended to take a nap," Lorelai said with a laugh.  
  
Luke laughed. "Smart girl."  
  
She nodded. "They're going to Harvard tomorrow to take a tour."  
  
"She'll love that," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "She'll have fun." She sighed and clutched her stomach. "Okay, what do you say we get ready for bed, then we watch television or something and pray that this stomachache goes away soon."  
  
Luke nodded. "Sounds good."  
  
Lorelai picked up a brochure from the desk, then walked over and sat down in an armchair. "You can use the bathroom first."  
  
Luke grabbed some clothes from the bureau, and his toothbrush and toothpaste from his suitcase, and walked into the bathroom. He came out a few minutes later in boxers and a T-shirt. "All done," he announced.  
  
"Hey, we get a free continental breakfast," Lorelai read from the brochure.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Luke asked, walking over to her. "Good deal."  
  
Lorelai stood up and handed him the brochure. "Here, look through it. It talks about all the services they have. They even have a juice bar so you'll have a place to go while I'm at the coffee shop."  
  
Luke smiled and sat down in the armchair. He started flipping through the brochure as Lorelai walked over to the bureau. She pulled open a drawer and stared at her selection of lingerie, finally selecting a slightly see- through black camisole embroidered with flowers. She brought it, and the matching panties, into the bathroom.  
  
Twenty minutes later, the bathroom door opened. Luke was on the couch flipping aimlessly through the television channels. He stopped and stared at her as she walked out of the bathroom. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open slightly. She stopped at the closet and hung up her dress, then slowly walked toward him.  
  
A smile spread across his face as she walked over and stood directly in front of him. His eyes slowly glazed over her body, quietly taking in every inch of her beauty. He exhaled loudly and looked into her eyes. "You look incredible." She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. Luke put his hands on her waist and kissed her stomach. "Incredible."  
  
"Thank you," she said softly. She kissed his forehead before she sat down next to him and leaned against his shoulder. "What are you watching?"  
  
He put his arm around her. "Nothing. Haven't found anything yet." He started flipping through the channels again.  
  
"Ooh, stop," Lorelai said.  
  
"What is it?" Luke asked.  
  
"Bad Lieutenant," Lorelai said. She snuggled closer against him, and his hand slid under her camisole and started gliding over her stomach. She giggled. "I was wondering how long it'd take for you to do that. It's like a magnetic reaction or something." He smiled and kissed her head.  
  
Almost twenty minutes later, Lorelai reached over, picked up the remote control, and turned off the television. Luke smirked as she stood up and grabbed his hand. She pulled him up off the couch and led him over to the foot of the bed.  
  
"So, that stomachache's all gone," Lorelai said, running her hands over his chest.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Luke asked. "That's good."  
  
Lorelai looked down at the bed. "Yeah, and this poor bed looks so sad that no one's using it."  
  
Luke smiled and looked at it. "You're right. And I've read that it's not good to let inanimate objects feel bad."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "That's right. So we should really do something about that - you know, for the sake of the bed."  
  
"For the sake of the bed," Luke agreed.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai lay in bed on her stomach as Luke walked out of the bathroom already dressed. He rolled his eyes as he looked at her. "Lorelai, I woke you up twenty minutes ago." He walked over to the bed and sat next to her. "Come on, get up."  
  
She groaned and turned her head the other way. "Just a few more hours," she muttered.  
  
"Come on, it's almost 9:30," Luke said, tapping her on the shoulder.  
  
Lorelai sighed into her pillow. She lifted her head slightly and looked at him, her eyes squinting as they adjusted to the light. "Luke, do you know what happens to people when they wake me up before I'm ready to get up?"  
  
He smirked and folded his arms across his chest. "No, what happens?"  
  
"They get so tired of my resulting crankiness that they end up taking their own lives," she said. She rested her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll just try to stay away from sharp objects today to avoid the suicidal tendencies. Now come on." He pulled the covers off of her.  
  
"Agh!" Lorelai exclaimed, opening her eyes. "It's freezing in here!" She reached for the blanket and pulled it back over herself. He tapped her shoulder repeatedly until she sighed and sat up. "I'm up, I'm up. Go do something useful and start the shower."  
  
"You're gonna take a shower?" he asked.  
  
"Uh, yeah," Lorelai said, narrowing her eyes at him. "That's what people do in the morning. Welcome to the world of bathing."  
  
He rolled his eyes. "I mean, you're just gonna get all sweaty when we go to the batting cages. You should take one when we get back."  
  
Lorelai groaned. "Oh, so that wasn't a dream."  
  
"Nope," he said, smiling. "We're going right after breakfast."  
  
She sighed and shrugged. "I'll just take another shower when we get back."  
  
"Fine, come on." He grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bed. He led her to the bathroom and gently pushed her through the door. "Go on, do whatever you have to do, and do it fast."  
  
Lorelai made a face at him. "You have too much energy in the morning." She shut the door.  
  
"Thank you," he replied. He walked over and sat down on the couch. He picked up the remote and turned on the television.  
  
Almost thirty minutes later, Lorelai walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. She walked over to the bureau and pulled open a drawer, then turned to Luke. "Hey Willard, what's the weather gonna be like today?"  
  
He looked over at her and said, "Hot. They just showed the forecast on the news."  
  
"You watch the news?" she asked with a smirk.  
  
"Yup," he said, turning his head back to the television.  
  
She smiled. "Huh. So many fascinating things I've yet to learn about you." She pulled some clothes out of her drawer and walked into the bathroom. A few minutes later, Luke heard the hair dryer turn on.  
  
A few seconds after it stopped, Lorelai emerged from the bathroom. She wore a blue sleeveless shirt with denim shorts, and her hair was pulled back into a curly ponytail. She grabbed her sneakers from the closet, then sat next to Luke on the couch.  
  
As she pulled on her first sneaker, Luke turned off the television and ran a finger over her upper arm. "You have perfect arms," he commented.  
  
She looked down at her arm. "Do I? I rarely look at my own arms. Or anybody's arms, for that matter. Well, except yours because they're pretty damn nice, and that tattoo - wow. It's just too sexy for words," she said, smiling. She paused. "Why are we talking about arms?"  
  
Luke smiled. "Because yours are perfect." He leaned forward and kissed her shoulder, running his tongue over it gently. He immediately pulled back and made a face. "Did you put lotion on or something?"  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Yeah, sorry." She pulled on her other sneaker.  
  
"Ugh." He brought his hand to his mouth, trying to wipe the taste off of his lips. "Could you possibly tell me that next time?" he grumbled.  
  
She smiled and stood up. "Well, the next time you get the sudden urge to lick my shoulder, ask me first." She put her hands on her waist and stood in front of him. He stared up at her for a few seconds before Lorelai laughed and said, "Okay, Captain Obvious, stop staring at my chest."  
  
He smiled and stood up. "Hey, you wear a tight shirt like that, it's gonna happen. I can't control my eyes."  
  
She smiled and gave him a kiss. "Let's go. Where's the free breakfast?"  
  
"Uh, the brochure thing says it's in the lounge. Wherever that is," Luke said with a shrug.  
  
"We'll find it," Lorelai said, walking over to the desk and grabbing her purse.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure once we step into the hallway, your nose will pick up the coffee smell and lead us right to the food," Luke said. "You're like one of those trained narcotics dogs."  
  
Lorelai laughed and smacked his shoulder playfully. "Hey, you mock, but you'll be surprised at how often that ability comes in handy."  
  
* * *  
  
Several minutes later, with help from one of the maids, they found the lounge. Lorelai's eyes widened immediately. "Oh my God, look at all that food," she said. Several long tables of breakfast foods stretched out in front of her, and she immediately walked over and picked up a plate. Luke smiled and followed behind her, and they made their way along the buffet. Lorelai held the plates as Luke poured some juice for himself and some coffee for her. They walked over to a table and started eating.  
  
"Mm, these eggs are great," Lorelai commented. She looked at his plate, then shook her head and laughed. "All that food up there and you get fruit salad and a bagel."  
  
"Hey, not everyone interprets the phrase 'free continental breakfast' to mean 'eat like a pig'," he said, rolling his eyes at her plate.  
  
"Hey, I'm just getting. . .your money's worth." She took a few more bites of her food, then looked up at him. "Luke, why'd you bring me here?"  
  
Luke put his fork down and narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"  
  
Lorelai gestured around her. "Here, this place. . ." She sighed softly. "I mean, I know how much this is costing you and - "  
  
"Wait, how do you know?" he interrupted.  
  
"Sookie told me how much the rooms are here," Lorelai said quietly as she pushed her eggs around her plate.  
  
"Oh," Luke said, pursing his lips slightly.  
  
"I mean, I don't want to be rude or anything but. . . can you afford spending that much just for a weekend away? It seems kind of. . . I don't know," Lorelai said. "It's a lot of money, Luke."  
  
"Are you having a good time?" Luke asked her.  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I'm having an incredible time."  
  
He shrugged. "Then don't worry about it."  
  
"But I want you to know that you don't have to spend a thousand dollars for me to be happy," Lorelai said quietly. "You know that, right?"  
  
Luke nodded. "I know." He smiled and shoved a piece of orange into his mouth.  
  
"Okay." She picked up a piece of bacon and brought it to her lips. Then she put it back down and said, "Just tell me that you're not wasting all your hard-earned money that you've been saving so you can buy a new truck or something."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Lorelai, stop worrying about it. I had some money to spend, so I spent it. Let's just enjoy it."  
  
"Okay, okay," Lorelai said, raising her hands in front of her chest. "Sorry."  
  
"That's okay," Luke said, taking a sip of juice. "I wanna ask you something."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Ask away."  
  
He paused a moment. "You said that. . . Rory thinks of me as a father figure."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "She does."  
  
"Since. . .we've been dating?" Luke asked.  
  
"Since. . . .forever," Lorelai said, smiling. "Or practically forever. I mean, you've been the main male figure in her life for years, she looks up to you. You've always been around, you've always been there for her. Well, for both of us."  
  
Luke smiled and nodded, but didn't say anything. He took a bite of his bagel and stared into space.  
  
"What are you thinking?" Lorelai asked.  
  
He looked at her and shrugged. "Nothing, really. It's just. . . nice that she thinks like that." He paused. "I mean, I've always felt sort of. . .you know, protective of her like that, so. . ." His voice trailed off.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "So you think of her sorta like. . . a surrogate daughter or something?" He shrugged and gave a little nod. Lorelai tilted her head and smiled. "That's so sweet." She took a sip of coffee and thought for a moment. "You know, this is why she probably likes the idea of us being together. I mean, it makes sense for her mom to be with the guy who's like a father to her."  
  
Luke smiled. "Yeah, it does make sense."  
  
Lorelai smiled and finished up her last piece of toast. She chewed it slowly, then said, "You know, Luke, when I was little, I had a dream that I was at a batting cage and, uh, I got hit in the head with a ball, and um, I had to go to the hospital and I died. And now, whenever I go to a batting cage, I get really, really ill." She frowned. "You don't want me to get really, really ill, do you?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "You're going," he said sternly. "In all relationships you have to make sacrifices. Suck it up."  
  
She wrinkled her nose. "Fine."  
  
"You're gonna have fun," he said. "More fun then I'll have in the stupid pool."  
  
"No way, pools are so much more relaxing," she said. She paused and narrowed her eyes at him. "Why'd you bring your bathing suit if you didn't want to go in the pool?"  
  
"I don't know, I thought I might try out the sauna," Luke said with a shrug. "And I'm sure as hell not going in there naked."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Ah, I see."  
  
"And I'm still not sure what sitting in a hot room with a bunch of nude people is supposed to be all about, but I guess I'll find out," he said with a shrug.  
  
"I think it cleans out your pores or something like that," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke shrugged. "Huh. Well, you'll have to tell me if you see a difference in my pores."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Will do." She wiped her lips with her napkin and dropped it on the plate. "I'm done."  
  
He looked down at his plate. "Me too," he said. "Ready to go?"  
  
She smiled. "Yup." They both stood up. She walked over to him and poked him in the chest. "You know, this isn't fair that I have to make my sacrifice first. You better keep your end of the deal."  
  
"I will." He smiled and kissed her.  
  
* * * 


	4. Parts 19 to 23

"It's Right There - parts 19 - 23"  
  
* * *  
  
PART 19  
  
* * *  
  
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up to the batting cages. Lorelai watched several men walk from the parking lot into the caged areas. "Man, this would be a good place to pick up guys," she commented. Luke narrowed his eyes at her, and she quickly added, "Uh, you know, I mean, if I wasn't already happily attached." She smiled and they stepped out of the car into the unseasonably hot weather. "It's so beautiful out today. Ooh, maybe I'll get a tan," she said excitedly.  
  
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm hoping to accomplish today, too," Luke said, rolling his eyes. He glanced around, then led Lorelai over to a rack of helmets and bats.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Okay, remind me again why you love swinging a bat around while you stand in a cage like an animal at the zoo."  
  
Luke shrugged. "It makes you feel powerful when you hit the ball, it makes you feel strong. I can't really explain it but it's very satisfying," he said. He handed her a helmet. "Here, see if this fits."  
  
Lorelai looked at it and made a face. "You're kidding me."  
  
"Just put it on," Luke said, shaking it in front of her.  
  
"Luke, it's gross," she whined. "How many people's sweaty heads have been in this already?"  
  
"They are required to clean them several times a day with disinfectant. They're perfectly fine," Luke said. "I'm gonna wear one, too."  
  
"You're gonna put that on your head, but you think that swimming in the pool is disgusting?" Lorelai asked skeptically. "That's crazy."  
  
"Wear it." He put the helmet on her head.  
  
"Hey!" she exclaimed. She lifted her hands up to remove it.  
  
Luke put his hand on top of it so she couldn't take it off. "Leave it on. You can take a shower when we get back to the room." As he removed his hand, Lorelai folded her arms across her chest and pouted. Luke put on a helmet and looked at the row of bats. He picked one up and held it out toward her. "Here, feel this."  
  
She reluctantly took it from him and grimaced. "It's too heavy."  
  
He found her a lighter one, then picked one out for himself. He took her hand and led her past several occupied cages until they finally reached an empty one.  
  
Lorelai looked at the sign on the gate. "This one is softballs."  
  
"Yeah, they're bigger so they'll be easier for you than baseballs," Luke said. He pointed to a bench right next to the cage. "I'll go first. Sit out here until I'm done, and watch me so you'll have some basic idea of what you're supposed to be doing in there."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "I know what you're supposed to do - you're supposed to hit the ball. That doesn't mean that I'm gonna be able to do it."  
  
"Sure you will. It just takes practice," he said. He went through the gate into the cage as she walked over to the bench and sat down.  
  
Lorelai leaned her bat against the fence. Luke put some change into the control box and pressed the start button. He stood over the painted-on plate and waited for the first ball.  
  
"Swing batter, batter swing!" Lorelai yelled, clapping her hands. The people in the cage next to them looked over at her curiously.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and hit the first ball, then turned to Lorelai. "What are you doing? That's for when you want people to miss the ball."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Oh, sorry. Quiet now." She gave him a thumbs up and whispered, "Go Luke, yay!"  
  
He shook his head slightly and smiled to himself, then turned back to the plate just in time to hit the next ball.  
  
As he finished his turn, he put his bat down and said, "Okay, your turn. Come in here." Lorelai stood up with a sigh and picked up her bat. She walked into the cage and over to the plate. He stood behind her and put his hands on her hips, lining her up with the pitching machine. He explained to her how to stand and swing, then he put some money into the control box. "You ready?" he asked.  
  
"Ready to leave?" she asked hopefully.  
  
He smirked. "No, ready to hit. I'm pushing the button now, pay attention." He pushed a button and stood with his arms across his chest, watching her.  
  
As the first ball came toward her, Lorelai jumped back and screamed, "Agh! This is so incredibly dangerous!"  
  
Luke laughed. "Lorelai, it's a softball arc pitch, it's the slowest pitch there is. Just stand where I told you. I promise it won't hit you."  
  
She took a deep breath and warily moved back into position. As the next ball came toward her, Lorelai swung and missed. She swung at the next four and missed them all. She sighed loudly. "Luke, I suck at this."  
  
"All right, when I say now, just swing as hard as you can," Luke said. He watched the next ball come towards her. "Now!"  
  
She swung and the tip of her bat caught a piece of the ball. She felt the slight vibrations in her hands and the ball rolled a few feet in front of her. She gasped. "I hit it!" she exclaimed. "At least, I think it was a hit."  
  
Luke laughed. "I think it was more like a bunt, but it's a start." He watched the next ball come towards her. "Now!" She swung and hit it further this time, and she laughed excitedly. "Ooh, now I know what you mean about it being satisfying."  
  
"See?" Luke said, smiling. "I told you it wouldn't be so bad." For the next fifteen minutes, they took turns batting. Luke continued telling her when to swing, helping her get some almost-decent hits.  
  
As Luke finished one of his turns, Lorelai walked into the cage and stood at the plate. Luke put some money in the machine, then said, "I saw some vending machines back by the helmets. I'm gonna go get us some water."  
  
"You're leaving me by myself? How will I know when to hit it?" she asked worriedly.  
  
"Just swing when it's a couple of feet away from you. You'll figure it out. I'll be right back," Luke replied. He pushed the start button and walked out of the cage.  
  
Lorelai stood at the plate swinging aimlessly as the balls came toward her, missing them all. As the last ball came toward her, she swung and hit it towards the ground, and it bounced a few times before rolling away. "Ha, I hit it!" she said to herself excitedly. She stood there in position waiting for the next one. After several seconds, she mumbled to herself, "Oh, good job, you finally learn to hit when your turn's over."  
  
She heard a whistle behind her. She turned around and saw three guys in their twenties on the other side of the fence. "Nice hit," one of them called.  
  
Lorelai took off her helmet and walked over to them. "Thanks. I'm thinking of trying out for the Yankees next week. Think they'll take me?"  
  
"They'd be stupid not to," he replied, looking her up and down. "You definitely put the babe in Babe Ruth."  
  
Lorelai laughed and rolled her eyes. "Oh God, that's probably the corniest line I've ever heard."  
  
He grimaced. "Ooh, shot down," he said as the other two laughed. "I'll guess I'll have to work on it. I'm Rob, this is Mark and John."  
  
Lorelai nodded, then walked through the gate and over to the bench. They took a few steps toward her. She put her helmet down, then noticed them staring at her. "Uh, did you want something?" She shoved her hands into her pockets and stared at them.  
  
Rob shrugged. "Not really, I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to - ." He stopped talking as Luke walked up to them carrying two bottles of water. He eyed the three boys curiously. He pursed his lips as he wrapped an arm around Lorelai's shoulder.  
  
Lorelai smiled at the boys. "So, uh, Rob, was it? Did you wanna finish up that attempt to ask me out, or are you gonna pass this time?"  
  
His eyes widened slightly. "Uh, I think I'll pass. See ya."  
  
Luke watched the three of them walk away as Lorelai took one of the water bottles and sat down on the bench. When they were out of site, Luke sat down next to her and took a long sip of water. Lorelai smiled at him. "Interesting."  
  
"What is?" he asked.  
  
"You're jealous," she said knowingly.  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "I am not."  
  
She smirked and narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh no? So what was up with the whole 'putting your arm around me to claim your territory' thing?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "That wasn't jealousy," he explained. "It was. . .affection. I'm an affectionate person. I'm not jealous."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay, fine, you're not jealous." She took a sip of water.  
  
"That's right, I'm not jealous," he repeated. "My turn." He put his water bottle down on the bench and walked into the cage. Lorelai watched him, a small smile on her lips.  
  
* * *  
  
Half an hour later, they walked into their hotel room. Lorelai sat on the bed with a sigh. "That's definitely the most active I've been in a looooong time." She paused and shrugged. "Well, you know, with the exclusion of our intense lovemaking."  
  
He let out a small laugh and sat next to her. "Yeah, but wasn't it fun?"  
  
She groaned. "I think fun's a bit too strong of a word. Perhaps the phrase, 'well, it wasn't the worst thing I've ever had to do in my life' might be more appropriate." She leaned back against the pillows.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "You liked it. You'll never admit it because you're the most stubborn person in the world, but you know you secretly had a good time."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "I'm not the most stubborn person in the world. I'm second."  
  
He smiled as he lay next to her. "Oh, sorry. Who's first?"  
  
"OJ Simpson," she said matter-of-factly. "I mean, after all these years, can you believe that he's still claiming he's not the killer? Geez, everybody knows it was him. Why doesn't he just admit it already?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Stubborn."  
  
Luke smiled. He clasped his hand around hers and brought it up to his lips. He kissed the top of it and placed it on his chest, then stroked it with his thumb. "Thanks for going even if you didn't like it."  
  
She turned her head and smiled at him. "You're welcome." She paused a moment, then she climbed on top of him and straddled his stomach. She leaned forward and whispered, "Okay, you got me. I did have fun."  
  
He smiled. "Thought so."  
  
"Oh, don't go getting all 'I told you so' on me," Lorelai said, smiling. "I only had fun because it was with you. It's not like I'm gonna go join a batting cage team and play everyday by myself."  
  
"I don't think they have batting cage teams," Luke said with laugh. "It's not exactly a competitive sport, it's just people practicing hitting."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, I don't care. I'm just saying that, yes, I loved spending time with you even if we were doing something that I probably never would've done for the rest of my life." She pressed her lips against his, then smiled through the kiss. "And now it's time to make your sacrifice."  
  
Luke groaned. "Oh great."  
  
Lorelai climbed off the bed and rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Come on, let's go in the pool!" she said. She walked over to the bureau and pulled out her bathing suit.  
  
He sighed loudly. "Fine. Just let me get a snack first." As Lorelai walked into the bathroom, he walked over to the small refrigerator and pulled it open. He stared into it for a few seconds, then pulled out an apple. "You want something to eat?" he called.  
  
Lorelai opened the bathroom door and stuck her head out. "Uh, yeah. . .are there any of those little bags of popcorn left?"  
  
Luke looked into the fridge and pulled one out. "Yup. Why on earth do they keep everything in the fridge? All of this junk doesn't need to be kept cold. Who wants to eat cold popcorn?"  
  
"That's how they keep everything fresh, Luke," Lorelai said. "You should know that, you're in the food business." She let out a small gasp. "Or maybe you're not - maybe you're just pretending to be in the food business, but you're really an undercover spy trying to learn about the dining habits of the residents in a small town and that's why - "  
  
"Lorelai," Luke interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Go get changed."  
  
Lorelai frowned at him. "Hmph. Fine." She shut the door. Luke took a bite of his apple as he walked over to the couch and sat down. Lorelai walked out a few minutes later and Luke's eyes widened. He finished chewing the piece of apple in his mouth, then said, "What are you wearing?"  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "Man, how deprived are you that you've never seen a bikini before?"  
  
He rolled his eyes. "I've seen them before, but don't you think it's a little. . . revealing?" he asked, eyeing it warily.  
  
She looked down at it and shrugged. "Uh, not really. This is what a regular bathing suit looks like, Luke. It's not like it's a thong or something." She spun around in a circle. "What, you don't like it?"  
  
His eyes glazed over her. "No, I do. . .you look great. I just - ." His voice trailed off as he stared at her.  
  
She shrugged. "So, then. . .stop complaining." She pulled her T-shirt and shorts on over her bathing suit. She walked toward him, grabbing the bag of popcorn he had left on the counter for her, and sat down next to him. She opened it and ate a handful, then said, "You know, me eating popcorn just before we go in the pool reminds me of an interesting thing I heard while ago."  
  
"Oh yeah? What?" Luke asked.  
  
"I'm not sure if it's true, but I heard that Orville Reddenbacher had a heart attack while he was in the tub, and the doctors said he survived the actual heart attack, but he died of drowning. He would've been fine if he hadn't been in the tub," Lorelai said, shaking her head sadly.  
  
Luke nodded with a slightly amused smirk on his face. "Huh, I didn't know that. And now the image of an old naked guy drowning in a tub will probably be with me for a long time, so thanks for taking up my valuable brain space with it."  
  
Lorelai smiled and shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth. "You're welcome," she mumbled with her mouth full. When she was finished chewing, she rolled her eyes and said, "Hey, I didn't complain when you filled my brain space with the mechanics of hitting a softball."  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Ha, you didn't complain? That's a good one." He took a bite of his apple. "Saying that you don't complain about everything would be like saying that Michael Bolton deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."  
  
"Ouch!" Lorelai said with a laugh. She paused a moment and nodded. "It's probably true, but still - ouch."  
  
Luke smiled. "And you've probably already forgotten everything I told you anyway."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Have not."  
  
"Okay, tell me something that I told you today," Luke said with a doubtful smirk.  
  
Lorelai paused for a moment and wrinkled her nose. "Uh. . . hmm. . . you told me that. . ." She stared up at the ceiling, thinking. Suddenly she smiled and said, "That they clean the helmets several times a day."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and stood up. "I'm glad you remember the important stuff." Lorelai smiled and nodded at him. He tossed his apple core into the garbage can, then grabbed some clothes from the bureau and walked into the bathroom to change.  
  
* * *  
  
Several minutes later, they were walking toward the entrance to the pool room. "If I get sick because of this, it's all your fault. Do you hear me?" Luke said.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, all my fault, I got it," she replied, pulling him through the door. They stood in the entryway, looking around at the large room. The ceiling and walls were made of mostly windows, allowing the sunlight to stream through. Several people were already in the water, and several others lay in lounge chairs reading or talking.  
  
Lorelai led him over to a pair of lounge chairs, and Luke glanced around nonchalantly at the people in the chairs surrounding them. Lorelai dropped her towel on one of the chairs, slipped off her shoes, then removed her T- shirt and shorts. She adjusted her bathing suit, then looked at Luke. "Okay, ready?"  
  
He lowered his voice and said, "Every guy in here is staring at you."  
  
She snickered. "Oh, they are not." She glanced around subtly, then brought her gaze back to Luke and let out a small laugh. "Okay, some of them are." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why - does that bother you?"  
  
He shook his head. "Nope, just pointing out a fact."  
  
She raised her eyebrows, then smiled slightly. "I can tell it's bothering you a little. Wow, I never knew you had this little insecurity thing going on. What - have you been hanging out with Dean or something?"  
  
"It's not bothering me," Luke said, glancing around the room. "Just because there are like twelve other guys picturing my girlfriend naked right now - why would that bother me?"  
  
"Beats me," Lorelai said with a shrug. "If there was a ton of girls staring at you, I wouldn't care. I trust you," she said pointedly.  
  
"I'm not saying I don't trust you. It's just different for guys," Luke explained. "No matter how much we trust our girlfriends, we see all other guys as a threat because we know how other guys are."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Oh my God, you think that this group of fifty year old guys is a threat to you?" She laughed. "Boy, have my standards dropped." She walked around her lounge chair and took his hands in hers. She kissed his cheek. "Luke, who's the only person in this room. . .no wait, this entire world, that I'm in love with?"  
  
He sighed softly and replied, "Me."  
  
"You." Lorelai smiled. "So you don't have to worry about anything or anyone." She put her hands on his shoulders and thought for a moment. "Well, except George Clooney. If he happens to show up in Stars Hollow one day and he starts flirting with me, that's when you should worry because I don't think I'd be able to resist his charms. But until that day. . ." She kissed him passionately, then pulled back and smiled. "I'd say you're pretty much worry-free."  
  
Luke smiled. "Good." She slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. After a few seconds, Luke pulled back and sighed. "Okay, let's get this over with. But if I get sick - "  
  
"Yeah, yeah," she interrupted, waving him off. "It's my fault, blame me, I'll pay your medical bills. Let's go, come on, hurry up."  
  
Luke took off his shoes, then pulled his T-shirt up over his head. Lorelai stood back and stared at his chest, smiling to herself. She shook her head slightly and said, "You know, I bet I'm the only person in Stars Hollow who knows how built you are. You really shouldn't hide those muscles under all that flannel." She ran her hands over the curves of his arms. "Plus, I bet you could significantly increase your profits with the influx of women customers you'd get," she added with a laugh.  
  
He shrugged. "Maybe, but then women would be constantly flirting with me," he said with a smirk. "It might be too uncomfortable for you."  
  
She laughed. "Ah, look at you trying to make me jealous. Sorry mister, it's not gonna work. I, for one, am very secure in this relationship."  
  
"Oh yeah?" he asked, smiling slyly.  
  
"Yup," she said. She glanced past him and smiled. "Ah, a perfect example. You don't see me complaining that the lifeguard is staring at your butt right now."  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows and shifted his feet uncomfortably. "Please tell me it's a woman lifeguard."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Yes, it's a woman. Come on." She took his hand and led him over to the pool steps.  
  
* * *  
  
Forty-five minutes later, they returned to their room. Lorelai carried a cup of coffee and an empty muffin wrapper. "Man, that muffin was not big enough. Can we go get some lunch now?" Lorelai whined. "It's after one."  
  
"I'm getting this chlorine off of me as fast as humanly possible," Luke said as he smelled his arm and made a face. "That pool was definitely over chemicalled."  
  
"I don't think that's a word," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "But you know what is a word? Starving! And I'm starving. Let's go eat first. . .please!" she begged.  
  
Luke sighed and pointed to the desk. "The room service menu is right there. Go order some food while I take a shower." He pulled some clothes out of his drawer.  
  
Lorelai's eyes lit up. "Ooh! Good idea." She rushed over to the desk and picked up the menu. "Do you want something?"  
  
"Uh, yeah - just order me something healthy," Luke said.  
  
"Like?" Lorelai prompted.  
  
"I don't know. Just order me something that you'd never order for yourself," he said. He walked into the bathroom and shut the door.  
  
Lorelai perused the menu for a few minutes, then ordered their food. She walked over to the bathroom door and heard the shower running inside. She pushed open the door slowly and smiled as she watched his profile through the fogged-up shower door. She walked toward it, removing her clothes along the way. She tapped lightly on the door and said, "Room in there for two?"  
  
The door slid open and Luke smiled at her. She stepped in and said, "Food's on its way." She closed her eyes and looked up toward the shower head, letting the hot water cascade over her face.  
  
"What'd you order for me?" he asked.  
  
"Turkey with lettuce on whole wheat and a salad," she said. "That okay?"  
  
Luke smiled and nodded. "Perfect, thanks." He slid his hands up and down her arms. "Uh, how long will it take?"  
  
She slicked her hair back and said, "The guy said like 20 minutes."  
  
Luke smiled and raised his eyebrows. "Huh, well, we might as well use that time constructively," he said, leaning in to kiss her.  
  
* * *  
  
As they finished eating lunch, Lorelai took a sip of her soda and stood up from the table. She wandered over to the bed and lay against the pillow. A few seconds later, Luke walked over and lay next to her. "Tired?"  
  
"Not really. It's just. . .my arms are hurting now," she said, rubbing one of her shoulders. "They weren't hurting earlier, but now they do."  
  
"Yeah, it's usually a delayed reaction like that," Luke said. "Are you gonna get a massage later?"  
  
"Mm, probably," she said. "Hopefully that'll help."  
  
Lorelai snuggled closer to him and rested her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. He kissed the top of her head and ran his hands up and down her back. Lorelai closed her eyes and said, "Thank you."  
  
Luke looked down at her questioningly. "For what?"  
  
"I don't know, for everything," she replied softly. "For everything you do for me . . .for everything you've ever done for me in my life. . . for putting up with me. . . for loving me. Just. . . everything."  
  
He smiled. "You're welcome."  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes. She lifted her head up and looked at him, and his eyes stared back into hers. "I love you," she said quietly. "I love. . . just being near you."  
  
"I love you, too," Luke said. He pulled her closer and kissed her deeply, running his fingers through her hair. They broke apart, and Lorelai rested her head back against his chest and closed her eyes. For several minutes, the only sound in the room was that of their light breathing until Luke cleared his throat. "Uh, Lorelai?"  
  
"Hmm?" she murmured, her eyes still closed.  
  
"I wanna talk to you about something. Uh, something important," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes and stared straight ahead, and a slightly nervous feeling came over her. She suddenly picked her head up and said, "Oh my God, are you dying?"  
  
Luke smiled. "No, I'm not dying.  
  
She let out a sigh of relief. "Whew, okay. What is it?" She rested her chin on his chest and stared up at him.  
  
"Uh, well, you know how it's been kinda crowded in my apartment lately, and how there's not exactly a whole lot of privacy?" Luke asked.  
  
"Yeah?" she said, prompting him to continue.  
  
"Yeah, well, I don't really want to, but I was thinking that it might be a good idea to look for a new place. You know, something a little bigger," Luke said.  
  
"Wow, really?" Lorelai asked, surprised. "You're gonna move?"  
  
Luke nodded. "But, I mean - then I was thinking that. . .maybe buying a new place right now wouldn't be a smart move if we. . ." He swallowed hard and paused a moment. "If you and me. . . you know, in the somewhat near but not too near future, decide to. . . uh, live together." He stared at her, waiting for her reaction.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 20  
  
* * *  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly. She lifted her head up slowly from his chest and blinked a few times. She stared at him for several seconds before stammering, "Uh. . .wha. . um. . .what?"  
  
Luke sat up straight. "I just thought that maybe we could talk about . . ." His voice trailed off as he noticed the slightly nervous look on Lorelai's face. He bit his bottom lip, uncertain of what to say.  
  
The room was silent as Lorelai stared down at her hands with wide eyes. She finally brought her gaze up to meet his and said quietly, "You've thought about us. . .living together?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, I think it's something we should. . . you know, talk about."  
  
Lorelai looked down and shook her head slightly. She slowly lifted it back up and said, "Luke, that's . . . don't you think it's a little fast? We've only been together a few months."  
  
Luke quickly nodded. "I know, I realize that. I didn't mean that we should move in together right now," he said. "I meant, you know, maybe in a few months or so, if you think that you might be ready for it - then I'll forget about looking for another place."  
  
Lorelai was silent for a moment before she asked, "So, you're saying. . . that you're ready for it?"  
  
Luke nodded. "I'm ready when you are. If you say you're ready right now, then we'll do it as soon as we can. If you say you wanna wait, we'll wait. Whatever you want."  
  
Lorelai stared down at the bed sheets, thinking things over in her head. She finally lifted her head to look at him. She exhaled loudly and said, "I think you're. . . the most incredible man in the world."  
  
Luke nodded. "I agree."  
  
Lorelai tilted her head and smiled at him. She leaned forward and kissed him, then slowly pulled back with a bewildering look in her eyes. She shut them briefly, then opened them a few seconds later with a small sigh. "I just. . .I really need to think about this."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, take your time. There's a lot to think about. I mean, you know, like how it'll affect Rory and everything." He paused a moment. "You do realize that if we do this. . .you know, sooner, later, whenever. . . it'll mean that Jess will have to come with me, right?"  
  
Lorelai nodded slowly. "I know, that's okay. There's a small spare room he can have if we decide to. . . ." Her voice trailed off.  
  
"But it shouldn't be a big deal," Luke said with a shrug. "I mean, he's almost an adult. He'll probably get out of Stars Hollow the minute he turns eighteen anyway."  
  
Lorelai nodded, only half listening to him as she stared down at the bed and thought things over.  
  
Luke noticed her discomfort and sighed. "Listen, you don't have to think about it now. I don't want you spending the next two days worrying about this. Sorry, I probably shouldn't have brought it up here."  
  
Lorelai looked up. "No, no, it's okay," she said, waving him off. "It's no big deal. I just won't think about it at all until we get home."  
  
Luke nodded. "Good." He leaned back against the headboard and opened his arms. She climbed onto him and rested her head against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.  
  
Lorelai stared into space, thinking about nothing else except their just- finished conversation. She started grinding her teeth nervously, and even the soothing feeling of his hands gliding up and down her back couldn't make her feel calm enough to just relax and forget about it. She lifted her head up and looked at him. "Luke, but what about all that stuff you said?"  
  
He narrowed his eyes at her. "What stuff?"  
  
"That stuff you said last year about living with Rachel," Lorelai said. "You said that you were a loner, that you hate living with people."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I thought you weren't gonna think about it until you got home."  
  
"I lied," she said quickly. "So, what about all that stuff you said?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "That was. . . all that stuff. . .it wasn't. . ." He paused and exhaled loudly. "I wasn't in love with Rachel when I was living with her. I'm in love with you, it'll be different with you."  
  
"But what if it's not?" Lorelai asked. "What if it tears us apart like it did to you and Rachel?"  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "That's not what tore us apart. There wasn't even anything to tear apart. We weren't even really together. It was just like. . we were both. . .there." Lorelai stared briefly into his eyes, then rested her head back against his chest with a sigh. They were both quiet for a few seconds before Luke added, "She left because I was in love with you. She saw it. . . she knew it. . . she helped me realize it."  
  
Lorelai lifted her head and smiled at him. She kissed him before she rolled off of him and climbed off the bed. She walked over to the desk and picked up one of the brochures. "I think I'm gonna wander down to the spa," she said as she flipped through the pages.  
  
Luke stood up and walked over to her. "Maybe I'll head down to the gym then."  
  
Still looking through the brochure, she nodded absentmindedly. "Mmkay."  
  
He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed the back of her neck. He inhaled the scent of her hair before he asked, "You sure you're okay?"  
  
She looked up from the brochure and smiled at him. "Fine. I'm fine," she said, nodding.  
  
He looked at her doubtfully. "Just do me a favor and don't think about it anymore, okay?" he asked. "Please?"  
  
"I won't," Lorelai assured him, sitting down at the desk. "I won't think about it at all until we get home."  
  
He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Good." He glanced around, looking for something. He pointed to the white keycard on the counter near the kitchen area. "I only see one room key. Do you know where the other one is?"  
  
"Oh, I think it's in my purse," she replied.  
  
"Okay, we probably won't be back at the same time, so make sure you take it with you," he said. He walked over to the bureau and pulled out some clothes to change for the gym.  
  
* * *  
  
Ten minutes later, Luke left for the gym as Lorelai was combing her hair in the bathroom. When she heard the door shut, she peeked out of the bathroom to make sure he was gone, then ran over to her cell phone. She dialed quickly as she walked over to an armchair and sat down.  
  
"Independence Inn, Michel speaking," Michel answered.  
  
"Michel, hey, it's me," Lorelai said.  
  
"Who is me?" Michel replied.  
  
"Me is me, your boss," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes. "Please put Sookie on the phone."  
  
"Ah, my boss, yes," Michel replied. "The woman who thinks she can just run off for the weekend whenever she wants to, always avoiding her work, not bothering to call and check on the very busy inn that she's supposed to be running."  
  
"Yup, that's me," Lorelai replied. "Now go put Sookie on the phone."  
  
Michel sighed. "Hold on."  
  
Several seconds later, Sookie answered, "Hello?"  
  
"Hey, it's me," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hey!" Sookie said excitedly. "Is everything okay? How's the weekend?"  
  
"Great, it's great Sookie," Lorelai said. "We're having a great time."  
  
"Good, good," Sookie said. "It's a nice place, huh?"  
  
"Very nice," Lorelai replied quickly. "Uh, guess what happened."  
  
"Ooh, I know!" Sookie replied. "You came back from the spa and you were gonna eat some of that - "  
  
"Sookie, you'll never guess," Lorelai interrupted. "Let me just tell you."  
  
"Hmph, you shouldn't have told me to guess if you didn't want me to guess," Sookie mumbled.  
  
"Luke wants me to think about us moving in together," Lorelai said. Sookie screamed loudly and Lorelai had to pull the phone away from her ear. "Ah, honey, that's my eardrum. Good thing I have another one."  
  
"Lorelai!" Sookie yelled. "That's incredible! What did you say? Are you gonna do it?"  
  
"I don't know," Lorelai replied. "I told him I have to think about it. What do you think? Don't you think it's too soon?"  
  
Sookie paused. "Well, I guess it probably seems a little soon, but you shouldn't think of it in terms of how long you've already been together."  
  
"I shouldn't?" Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes.  
  
"Nope," Sookie replied. "There are some people who have been dating for years who still aren't ready to move in together. Then there are people who are ready for it after a few weeks. It all depends on how much in love you are and how well you guys get along and how strong the relationship is."  
  
"Uh huh, right," Lorelai replied, nodding her head.  
  
"Does he want an answer soon?" Sookie asked.  
  
"No, he doesn't even want me to think about it until we get home, but I can't stop thinking about it," Lorelai confessed. "It's all I've been thinking about since he mentioned it. It's driving me crazy!"  
  
"When did he mention it?" Sookie asked.  
  
"Uh, like twenty minutes ago," Lorelai replied.  
  
Sookie laughed. "You make it sound like you've been thinking about it for weeks. Hey, think of it this way - you guys are living together this weekend. Think of it as sort of a sneak peek of what it might be like."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Huh, good point."  
  
"But I agree with Luke - you should try to enjoy yourself while you're there. Don't stress yourself out, don't think about it until you get back," Sookie said.  
  
"Okay," Lorelai replied. "Thanks Sookie."  
  
"You're welcome," Sookie replied. "Ah, I gotta run. I have to start getting the dinner specials ready for tonight. Have fun, call me if you need anything. Bye hon."  
  
"Bye Sookie," Lorelai replied. She turned off her phone, then covered her face with her hands and closed her eyes.  
  
When she lifted her head up, she glanced around the room with a sigh. She slowly walked over to the bed and picked up Luke's T-shirt. She clutched it tightly in her hands for a moment, just staring at it. She brought it to her nose and inhaled the light scent of his cologne, then smiled to herself. She dropped it back on the bed and exhaled loudly as she grabbed her purse and walked out the door.  
  
* * *  
  
Two hours later, Lorelai unlocked the door and walked into the room. Luke was sitting on the couch in jeans and a T-shirt, his hair wet from his recent shower. He turned off the television and smiled at her. "Hey."  
  
"Hey you," Lorelai said, smiling. She tossed her purse on the desk and walked over to him. She kneeled over his lap, straddling his legs with her knees, and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and as the kiss ended, she leaned forward and hugged him.  
  
"Had a good time?" Luke said.  
  
"Yeah, it was great," she said, pulling back. He ran his fingers through her hair as she spoke. "I had a full-body massage. Mmm, that felt so good. And I had good timing because you're supposed to have an appointment but I totally lucked out and there was a cancellation, so they had an open spot. Then I got a facial. Feel this." She grabbed his hand and put it on her cheek. "Nice, huh?"  
  
He smiled. "Very," he agreed. "What else?"  
  
"Olive oil pedicure," she replied. "Doesn't that sound so cool?"  
  
"Uh, no. That actually sounds pretty disgusting," he replied with a laugh. "They just rub olive oil on your feet?"  
  
"Basically, yeah," she said with a shrug. "But it felt great. What did you do?"  
  
"Uh, let's see," Luke said. "First I wandered around the hotel for twenty minutes looking for the gym. You know, they really need to have maps posted throughout the hallways or something. Then I finally found it and worked out for about forty-five minutes. Then I got lost trying to find my way back to the room - again because there just aren't enough maps posted. Then I took a shower and watched some TV, and that's when you got here."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Uh huh, so it was a typical guy afternoon - not asking for directions, working out, and watching television."  
  
"Yes, it was quite a masculine filled couple of hours," Luke replied, nodding.  
  
She smiled. "Are you hungry?"  
  
"Starved," he replied. "Wanna go down to the restaurant?"  
  
She nodded. "On one condition."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What?" he asked curiously.  
  
"I'm paying," she replied.  
  
He shook his head. "No, you don't have - "  
  
She interrupted him by placing a finger on his lips. "I know I don't have to, Luke. But you've spent like a billion dollars already this weekend, at least let me pay for something so I don't feel like a total loser." She moved her finger from his lips and kissed him. She pulled back and pouted. "Please?"  
  
He stared at her for a moment, then sighed. "Fine."  
  
She smiled. "Good." She jumped up off the couch. "Let's get dressed."  
  
* * *  
  
They stood at the entrance of the restaurant waiting to be seated, their fingers laced through each other. Listening to the soft music playing throughout the restaurant, Lorelai nudged Luke with her elbow. "Hey, look over there." She nodded toward the center of the room, where several couples were dancing on a small dance floor.  
  
Luke groaned. "Don't even think about it."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Come on, not even one dance?"  
  
"Nope," he replied sternly. "Not one. I don't dance."  
  
"Because. . . ," she prompted him.  
  
"Because I hate dancing," he said matter-of-factly.  
  
"You say that about everything," she said, rolling her eyes. "You need to think up a better excuse."  
  
"Okay, how about this?" Luke asked. "Because I detest dancing."  
  
She smiled. "Detest and hate mean the same thing, it's still the same excuse."  
  
He shrugged. "Well, I tried."  
  
"I appreciate that," she said. She paused a moment and glanced around the restaurant. "Hello, do they not see us standing here waiting to eat? Geez."  
  
"We've only been here for two minutes. Give 'em some time," he said.  
  
Lorelai sighed. She turned around, noticing that the wall she was standing in front of was mirrored. She stared at herself for a moment, then tapped Luke on the shoulder. "Hey, look." She gestured to the mirror.  
  
Luke looked over his shoulder. "What about it?" he asked. "It's a mirror."  
  
She turned him around so they were both facing the mirror, then she slipped an arm around Luke's waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Look at us. Look at how good we look together. If that's not a match made in heaven, then I don't know what is."  
  
Luke smiled. "Can't argue with that."  
  
They both stared at the mirror until they heard a voice behind them say, "Two?"  
  
They turned around and found a hostess staring at them, holding two menus. "Excuse me?" Lorelai asked.  
  
The hostess smiled. "Party of two?"  
  
"Oh, yes, thank you," Lorelai replied. She took Luke's hand and they followed the hostess through the restaurant to an empty table. They sat down and ordered drinks, then started perusing the menus.  
  
Lorelai suddenly looked up and said, "Luke?"  
  
He lowered his menu. "What?"  
  
"Were you ever gonna ask me out?" she asked.  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "What?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged and smiled. "I'm the one who asked you out the first time. I was just thinking, would you have ever asked me out if I hadn't done it?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I would've gotten up the nerve eventually."  
  
She laughed. "Gotten up the nerve? Why were you so scared?"  
  
He shrugged. "I don't know. Because you. . . you were just so perfect and - "  
  
Lorelai groaned. "Luke, don't - "  
  
"Hey," he interrupted. "I know you don't like to hear it, but it's true. You're perfect to me. . . . and I just. . .felt like I was out of your league, that you wouldn't be interested. I don't know, I guess it was crazy."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You make it sound like I'm the perfect head cheerleader and you're the . . . president of the chess club or something." She paused. "Oh, well, you were a Trekkie, so I can understand if you feel like a geek sometimes."  
  
He laughed. "I was not a Trekkie. It was just a shirt."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Right, just a shirt, I got it."  
  
Luke smiled and brought his gaze back down to his menu. He looked at it for a few more minutes, then a voice said, "Luke? Is that you?"  
  
Lorelai and Luke both looked up. A blond woman of about thirty years old stood at their table. She wore a short black dress, and Lorelai wrinkled her nose at her over-usage of perfume.  
  
Luke smiled at the woman. "Oh. . . hey."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes as she glanced back and forth between them.  
  
"Wow, I hardly recognized you," the woman said, looking him up and down. "You look good." She giggled as she ran her hand along the seam of his sleeve, and Lorelai's eyes widened.  
  
Luke blushed slightly as Lorelai loudly cleared her throat, and they both turned to look at her. She forced a smile and said, "Hi, remember me?"  
  
Luke, looking somewhat uncomfortable, said, "Oh, this is Lorelai. Lorelai, this is Carrie."  
  
Carrie nodded indifferently toward Lorelai, then turned back to Luke and smiled. She squeezed his shoulder and said, "So, I should get back to my table. It was good to see you again."  
  
"Uh, yeah," Luke replied. "See you around."  
  
She smiled at him and walked away, and Luke went back to reading his menu. Lorelai stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds before she reached across the table and grabbed his menu.  
  
Surprised, he said, "Hey, what are you doing?"  
  
Lorelai gasped and stared at him with wide eyes. "Uh, excuse me, who's your little friend?"  
  
"What friend?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips. She raised her eyebrows and stared at him expectantly.  
  
"Oh, oh, oh," Luke said quickly. "You mean Carrie? We met in the gym earlier. We were sorta working out together."  
  
"Sorta working out together?" Lorelai asked, raising her eyebrows. "Huh."  
  
"Yeah, we kinda kept ending up at the same machines at the same time," Luke said with a shrug. "So we were sorta talking." He reached over the table to grab his menu back, but Lorelai held on tight.  
  
"Uh huh, uh huh," Lorelai said, nodding. "And when you were sorta talking, did you sorta mention that you sorta have a girlfriend?"  
  
He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Uh, no, I don't think it came up."  
  
"Uh huh, uh huh," Lorelai said. "Interesting." She pursed her lips and stared at him indignantly.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly. "Lorelai, she was just being friendly."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "She was flirting with you right in front of me!" she whispered loudly. "And if she was doing it that much with me sitting right here, I don't even wanna know what she was doing in the gym."  
  
Luke leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. He smirked at her as he said, "I thought you were completely secure in this relationship?"  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I am, I'm very secure. That doesn't mean I won't get a little annoyed by trampy girls who flirt with you right in front of me."  
  
"You're annoyed?" Luke asked, slightly amused by her discomfort. "Not jealous, just annoyed?"  
  
"Yes, annoyed," Lorelai said. She handed him his menu back, mumbling, "I'm not jealous."  
  
He muttered quietly, "Yes, you are." He stared at his menu, smiling to himself.  
  
She peeked over his menu and said, "I see you smirking, knock it off."  
  
He lowered his menu and looked at her. "I'm not smirking. I'm just sitting here quietly trying to decide what I'm gonna make you buy me for dinner."  
  
"Mmhmm," she muttered. They looked at their menus, and a few minutes later, the waitress brought them their drinks and took their orders.  
  
They sat there for a few moments in silence. Luke aimlessly rearranged his silverware on his napkin as Lorelai stared off into space. Luke stared at her for a few seconds before he said, "Lorelai?"  
  
She slowly brought her gaze to him. "What?"  
  
"What are you thinking about?" Luke asked. "'Cause if you're still thinking about that girl, then - "  
  
"No, no, I'm not," Lorelai interrupted. "I'm thinking about something else."  
  
"What?" Luke asked.  
  
She sighed softly and smiled. "I'm just thinking about what Rory's doing right now," she said.  
  
Luke smiled. "Oh."  
  
"I keep waiting for her to call," Lorelai said. "I guess they've been pretty busy today."  
  
Luke nodded. "I'm sure she'll call sometime tonight."  
  
Lorelai nodded. She paused a moment and smiled. "So, uh, in this gym you went to - how many other women did you cheat on me with?"  
  
He laughed. "None, just that one."  
  
"Oh, good, glad to see you have morals and only take on one mistress at a time," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yup, I know how to manage my women," Luke said, nodding proudly.  
  
Lorelai let out a small laugh and shook her head slightly. "You're cute."  
  
Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "I get that a lot."  
  
* * *  
  
Almost thirty minutes later, they were talking as they finished up their meals. Lorelai, in mid-sentence about the strange man she saw earlier in the elevator, suddenly stopped and stared up at the ceiling. "Aw, I love this song," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes as he listened to it. "What is it?" he asked, taking a sip of water.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "All the Way, Frank Sinatra. You don't know this song?"  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know the song, but I'm not you - I don't instantly recognize a song just by the first three seconds of introduction chords."  
  
She shrugged. "It's a gift." She stared into space, listening to it. "Mm, I could listen to this song all day. It's so romantic." She sighed softly.  
  
He stared at her for a few seconds, then glanced toward the center of the room where several couples were dancing. He brought his gaze back to Lorelai, who was now buttering a roll, mouthing the words to the song. He smiled at her and said, "Let's dance."  
  
Lorelai looked up, surprised. "What?"  
  
"Come on, before the song ends," he said, standing up. Lorelai dropped her roll and knife on the table and stood up. Luke grabbed her hand and led her to the small dance floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his interlocking fingers near the small of her back as Lorelai draped her arms over his shoulders. As they started dancing, Lorelai smiled at him. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome." He smiled and kissed her, then she rested her chin on his shoulder as she ran her fingers through his hair.  
  
Lorelai stared straight ahead at the mirrored wall behind him and watched the reflection of them dancing. After a minute of them dancing silently, she smiled to herself, then placed her lips next to Luke's ear and whispered, "Two months."  
  
Luke pulled back and narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"  
  
"Two months," she repeated. "When Rory's finished school - when things are less hectic for her and she's had time to adjust to this."  
  
Confused, Luke shook his head slightly. "Lorelai, what are you talking about?"  
  
She smiled. "I think we should live together . . . in two months."  
  
The song came to an end, and as some of the couples dispersed from the dance floor, Luke and Lorelai stood there staring at each other. Luke's eyes widened and a slow smile spread across his face. "Are you serious?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I mean, I wanna discuss it with Rory first, but I think she'll be okay with it. I mean, she was okay with Max moving in and she knows you a whole lot better than she knew him."  
  
Luke shook his head slightly. "Wow. . .so we're gonna do this. We're gonna live together."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I think we're ready. I mean, sure, it's only been a few months, but by the time we actually do it, it'll have been like half a year."  
  
Luke smiled and nodded. "We're definitely ready." He leaned forward and kissed her gently. "Let's go upstairs."  
  
She smiled. "Ah, the only true way to celebrate anything." They walked over to their table and waited for the check. Lorelai paid it, then they quickly walked out of the restaurant over to the elevators.  
  
The elevator doors opened on their floor and they walked quickly down the hallway to their room. Luke took the keycard from his pocket and fumbled with it in the slot as Lorelai kissed his neck. He pushed open the door and they rushed inside, slamming it behind them.  
  
Lorelai dropped her purse on the floor as their mouths crashed together in a passionate kiss. Lorelai's hands started unbuttoning his shirt as they moved slowly toward the bed. They stood near the foot of it, kissing until they were breathless. They broke apart, panting to catch their breaths, then fell backwards onto the bed.  
  
* * *  
  
They lay in bed, their chests heaving as they struggled to find their normal breathing patterns. Lorelai suddenly heard a faint beeping sound in the background and she held her breath for a moment, trying to determine what it was. Realizing that it was her cell phone, she jumped off the bed and ran to her purse. She pulled it out and answered it breathlessly, "Hello?"  
  
"Mom? Are you okay?" Rory asked, concerned.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Lorelai replied, panting heavily. "How was your day?" she asked. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to Luke.  
  
"Incredible!" Rory said excitedly. "We went to Harvard! We took a tour, sat in some classrooms, met some professors, toured the dorms, talked to some students, raided the school store. It was so great."  
  
Lorelai smiled at her excitement. "Oh, honey, that's awesome. Sounds like your dream vacation." She leaned back against Luke and rested her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly.  
  
"It's definitely ranking up there on my list of favorite days," Rory replied. "What did you do today?"  
  
"Oh God, I think the question is, what didn't I do today?" Lorelai said with a laugh. "We went to the batting cages, we went in the pool, I had a massage, a facial, and a pedicure, we both got jealous even though we won't admit it. . ." She paused. "Although I guess me saying that counts as an admission on my part." She felt Luke laughing behind her and she smacked his thigh playfully. "And uh, we ate dinner and we danced to All the Way."  
  
"Aw, you love that song!" Rory said.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I know, it was great."  
  
"Did you say you went to the batting cages? You? The representative of all things unphysical and inactive?" Rory asked, shocked.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Yes! And I even hit the ball a few times."  
  
"Wow," Rory said, impressed. "Good going. What's that about being jealous?"  
  
"Oh, I'll explain it when we get back," Lorelai said. She paused a moment, then looked back at Luke and smiled as she said, "Oh, and by the way, we're probably gonna have some company in a few months."  
  
"Company?" Rory asked curiously.  
  
"Uh, yeah," Lorelai replied. "Um, Luke and I were talking about. . . he and Jess moving in."  
  
There was silence on the other end of the phone.  
  
"Rory?" Lorelai said, narrowing her eyes. "You there?"  
  
"Uh, I'm sorry, I'm just a little shocked right now," Rory replied. "I don't think my mouth could've dropped any further to the ground," she added with a laugh.  
  
Lorelai suddenly felt nervous. "Why? Do you not want . . . that to happen?" Luke listened intently to Lorelai's side of the conversation, wondering what Rory was saying.  
  
"No, I think it'll be great. I was actually thinking the other day about how it would probably happen eventually," Rory replied. "I just didn't think it would happen so soon. But really, I'm happy about it, I promise."  
  
Lorelai let out a small sigh of relief. "Geez, don't do that to me! I thought you were gonna get all freaked out and run away to live with your Dad or something."  
  
Rory laughed. "No, I'm fine with it." She paused and let out a small laugh. "Oh boy, I'm sure Dean'll love the fact that I'll be living with Jess."  
  
Lorelai grimaced. "Ooh, that's right. They're not exactly big fans of each other, huh?"  
  
"No, they're not," Rory replied. "But Dean's been starting to lay off the whole jealousy thing now that Jess has a girlfriend."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "He does? I didn't know that. Hold on." She lowered the phone and looked at Luke. "Did you know that Jess has a girlfriend?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, some girl he works with."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "I'm the last to know everything." She put the phone back up to her ear. "Hon? So. . .you're perfectly fine with this?"  
  
"Perfectly fine, Mom," Rory assured her.  
  
"Okay, good," Lorelai said, relieved. "So, call me tomorrow night, okay?"  
  
"I will," Rory replied. "Bye Mom, love you."  
  
"Love you too," Lorelai replied. "Bye." Lorelai smiled as she hung up the phone and placed it on the nightstand. She turned to Luke and kissed him, then snuggled up against him.  
  
He pulled the covers over them and said, "So she's okay with it?"  
  
"She's perfectly fine," Lorelai said, closing her eyes.  
  
Luke paused for a moment. "And you're sure you're okay with it?" he asked. "You didn't rush into this decision, right?"  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes and lifted her head up to look at him. "No, I've thought about it all day long. I definitely didn't rush into it," she assured him. "I promise you that I'm ready."  
  
Luke smiled at her. "Good. So am I." He kissed her, then she rested her head back against his chest and closed her eyes. Luke sighed softly and kissed the top of her head before he leaned back against the pillow and closed his eyes.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 21  
  
* * *  
  
When Lorelai woke up the next morning, she was on her side with Luke's arm draped over her from behind. She craned her neck back to look at him. Seeing that he was still asleep, she quietly slipped out from under him and climbed off the bed. He stirred in his sleep, but his eyes remained closed. She grabbed some clothes from the bureau and walked into the bathroom to take a shower.  
  
Half an hour later, she walked out of the bathroom and found Luke sitting up in bed talking on her cell phone. She gasped. "Oh my God - you do know that's a cell phone, don't you?" She walked over and sat next to him.  
  
He smiled and nodded as he kept talking into the phone. "Yeah, just pick up enough to get you through today and I'll order a bigger shipment when I get back . . . Yeah . . . Jess is doing okay? . . . He's been helping out, right? . . . . Oh, good. . . Yeah, I'll be home tomorrow. . . Good, thanks. . . Bye. . ." Luke flipped the phone shut and placed it back on the nightstand.  
  
"Who was that - Caesar?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke yawned and nodded. "Mmhmm. I wanted to check up on things, make sure the place hadn't burned down or anything. Took me ten minutes to figure out how to use the stupid phone."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "So, the diner's still standing?"  
  
"Yup," he replied. "And Jess has actually been showing up for all of his shifts."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened slightly with surprise. "Wow, impressive."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yup." He stood up and stretched, then walked slowly toward the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower."  
  
"Okay," Lorelai replied. She walked over to her duffel bag and pulled out a couple of magazines, then sat on the couch and started reading through them.  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, Luke walked out of the bathroom with one towel wrapped around his waist and another draped over his shoulders. He walked over to the bureau and pulled open a drawer.  
  
Lorelai looked up from her magazine. "Hey Luke?"  
  
He pushed the drawer shut and pulled open another one. He started rummaging through it looking for his black T-shirt. "Huh?" he answered, looking into the drawer.  
  
"I was just reading about this recent male survey thing they did and I wanna see if you fall into the majority," Lorelai said.  
  
Finally finding his shirt, he pulled it out and shut the drawer, then turned to look at her. "What is it?"  
  
She looked down at the magazine and read, "Putting an end to the myth that bigger is better, the majority of men surveyed said that they prefer women with medium-sized breasts." She looked up at Luke and raised her eyebrows. "Are you in the majority?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Sure, I guess."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Wrong answer! The correct answer is, 'No, Lorelai, I love your voluptuous breasts and those are the only breasts I ever think about, so you shouldn't classify me with the other men in society who only see breasts as objects'." Lorelai shook her head disappointingly at him.  
  
Luke smirked. "You didn't let me finish - I was just about to add that."  
  
Lorelai giggled and looked back at the magazine. She read a few more sentences to herself, then she scoffed loudly. "Oh my God, listen to this. The survey says that three out of four men would rather be with a woman with cancer than one who has fat thighs." She looked at Luke and frowned. "You're all pigs."  
  
Luke laughed. "Excuse me, three out of four men - not all men. I'm guy number four."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Hmph, you better be."  
  
"Why does it matter? You have great thighs," Luke pointed out.  
  
"Well, now I do, but you never know what could happen in the future," Lorelai said, wagging her finger at him. "And you better not be one of those guys who dumps a girl the minute she gains a pound."  
  
"Hey, the way you eat, I'm already prepared for you to gain fifty pounds," he said.  
  
She scoffed. "Hey, now, watch it. Commenting on a lady's eating habits is never appropriate. I'm sure it says that in here somewhere." She looked down at the magazine and started turning the pages.  
  
He rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Okay, are we done with this conversation? Can I get dressed sometime today?"  
  
She waved him off without looking up from her magazine. "Sure, go ahead."  
  
"Thank you," he muttered. He grabbed some more clothes and walked back into the bathroom. He walked out a few minutes later. He sat on the bed and pulled on his shoes, then stood up and said, "Okay, ready to go?"  
  
She dropped her magazine on the couch and stood up. "Hi, I've been ready to go for like an hour," she said with an exasperated sigh.  
  
He rolled his eyes as he walked toward the door. "You have not. Come on."  
  
She walked right past him. "Wait, I have to do my hair and makeup."  
  
His hand on the doorknob already, Luke groaned. "What? You just said that you've been ready to go for an hour."  
  
She turned around. "Yes, but I meant that in the sense that I was emotionally and psychologically ready to go, but not in the sense that I'm physically ready to go," Lorelai explained. "There are many facets to being ready, Luke. You know, sometimes you might be ready to - "  
  
"Okay, okay," Luke interrupted, holding up a hand for her to stop. "Just go get ready and then you can finish this highly interesting explanation about the different stages of readiness while we're eating breakfast." He pointed to the bathroom. "Go, I'm hungry."  
  
She made a face at him before she turned around and walked into the bathroom. Luke walked over to the couch and sat down with a sigh. He noticed her pile of magazines next to him on the couch. He glanced toward the bathroom to see if she was looking, then quietly picked one up and started flipping through it.  
  
Several minutes later, Lorelai walked out of the bathroom. She stopped abruptly in her tracks when she saw Luke intently reading her Cosmo. "See anything good?" she asked with a laugh.  
  
Startled, Luke jumped. He immediately dropped the magazine onto the couch and stood up. "Geez, don't do that," he grumbled.  
  
She walked toward him, smiling. "What were you reading?"  
  
He shrugged. "Just skimming some articles."  
  
"Mmhmm," she said, smiling. "Perhaps the one called 'Ten Ways Men Drive Women Wild in Bed'? Ooh, or the one called 'Does Size Really Matter?' Either one of those catch your eye?" She ran her hands over his chest and kissed his cheek.  
  
Luke blushed slightly. "Uh, nope, didn't see either of those," he replied quickly. "Ready to go?" He walked over to the door and pulled it open. Lorelai smiled to herself as she grabbed her purse and followed him out into the hallway.  
  
* * *  
  
After they had eaten breakfast, they walked out of the lounge and wandered down to the lobby. Lorelai looked out one of the large picture windows and said, "It looks nice out."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, it does. Let's sit outside for a little while."  
  
"Ooh, you mean we can find a nice spot on the grass and lay on our backs and stare up at the sky and try to make shapes out of the clouds?" she asked excitedly.  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "Uh, no, I mean we can sit up straight on that bench right there on the shaded patio," he said, pointing to the white cushioned bench on the other side of the window.  
  
Lorelai pouted, then she sighed. "Are you sure I can't convince you to sit on the grass?"  
  
"We're not sitting on the grass," Luke said sternly, taking her hand. He led her out the door and they walked across the patio over to the bench. Luke sat down first, and Lorelai sat next to him, slumping down so that she could comfortably lean her head against his chest. Lorelai rested her hands on her stomach as Luke stroked her arm.  
  
Lorelai glanced around at the other people on the patio. "Hey," Lorelai whispered. "What do you think that guy in the light blue shirt does for a living?"  
  
Luke looked around nonchalantly until he spotted who she was talking about. He was an older man sitting at a small patio table with a newspaper spread out in front of him while he talked on his cell phone. "Hmm. . . accountant?" Luke suggested.  
  
Lorelai stared at the man for a second. "Possibly. He looks like he's good with numbers."  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "How can you possibly tell that just by looking at him?"  
  
"Trust me, I can just tell these things," Lorelai replied. "Hmm. What do you think his name is?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I have no idea."  
  
"I think he looks like. . . a John," Lorelai said. "Yeah, definitely a John."  
  
"Okay, John it is, then," Luke said. "Looks like John's getting some company."  
  
Lorelai watched as a woman walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then sat down next to him at the table. Lorelai gasped. "Oh God, she's like one-third of his age."  
  
"Maybe it's his daughter," Luke suggested.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You don't bring your daughter to a place this fancy." She stared at the couple for several seconds. "Oh, I know!" she whispered loudly. "I have it all figured it out."  
  
Luke smiled. "Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yup! Okay, John is a married financial planner on a business trip, and that woman. . .who looks like a Kate. . .is not only his personal secretary, but also his mistress," she said, nodding enthusiastically. "That's it, that's definitely it. I'm good."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Yes, you know everything." He stared at the couple for a few seconds. "Okay, so now explain why she looks upset."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Isn't is obvious? She just realized that this business trip is the last time that they're going to be together because he's leaving the country tomorrow with all the money he absconded from his clients last week and she can't go with him because she has to take care of her sick mother."  
  
Luke laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't pick up on that. My mistake."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "It's okay, you don't have the gift like me." She glanced around the patio. "John and Kate are boring me now. We need new people to talk about."  
  
Luke glanced around. "What about those two by the big fern? I saw them in the gym yesterday."  
  
Lorelai scanned the patio for the fern, then raised her eyebrows when she saw the couple he was referring to. "Wow, they're younger than most people here. How old do you think they are - like twenty-four?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I guess."  
  
Lorelai eyed them curiously. "Wow, they're both really buff," she remarked. "Look at the size of his arms. . . and those thighs." She stared at him for a few more seconds. "Wow, his chest is just. . . hmm."  
  
Luke waved a hand in front of her face. "Hi, are you done drooling over Arnold Schwarzenegger over there?"  
  
"I'm not drooling," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm merely commenting on his physique. Trust me, I don't find him attractive at all."  
  
"Really?" Luke asked, surprised. "But you love muscles."  
  
"I do love muscles," she said, turning to look at him. "But it's not like you can just stick muscles on some random guy and I'll automatically find him physically attractive. He has to be cute, too. You know, like you. You've got the sexy muscles, but you've also got the adorable face and nice butt."  
  
Luke smiled. "So I'm told."  
  
Lorelai laughed and turned around to look back at the young couple. "But that guy - he sorta has like a freaky looking Greg Brady head on top of a Sylvester Stallone body. It's just not working for me," she said, shaking her head.  
  
"Good."  
  
Lorelai glanced around the patio. "Do you think there's someone out here talking about us like we're doing to other people?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know. What do you think they would say?"  
  
"I don't know," Lorelai replied. "That we're. . . uh. . .we don't. . ." She paused. "Nope, sorry, there's nothing bad about us." She shrugged, then smiled and said, "Maybe they'd talk about how perfect we look together."  
  
Luke smiled. "Maybe," he agreed, nodding his head. He kissed her before she turned back around and rested her head against his shoulder. They sat outside talking for a few more minutes, making plans for the rest of the day.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, having just used the sauna, they returned to their room and changed.  
  
As Lorelai brushed her hair near the bed, Luke flipped through the brochure of things to do in the area. "Hey, how 'bout we drive to the aquarium?" Luke suggested.  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes as she walked over to him. "The aquarium?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.  
  
Luke put the brochure back on the desk. "Yeah. We don't have to stay long. It's just something to get us out of the hotel for a little while," Luke said. He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close against his body.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Sure, I don't care." She picked a piece of fuzz off of his shoulder and dropped it to the floor.  
  
"And even if you don't like the animal part, they'll probably have junk food there to keep you content," Luke said, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Oh, you sold me." She kissed him, then wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.  
  
* * *  
  
Two hours later, they sat at a small table in the café of the aquarium. Lorelai was eating her second slice of pizza as Luke ate a sandwich. Lorelai took a sip of her soda and said, "Man, that was a lot of walking. I'm still tired."  
  
"Yes, I know," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "You've reminded me every two minutes since we got here of how much you hate to walk."  
  
She frowned. "And you didn't even offer to carry me on your back." She took a bite of pizza before she asked, "So how come you don't look exhausted?"  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Because, unlike you, the laziest woman in Connecticut, I'm used to having some physical activity in my life."  
  
Lorelai stuck her tongue out at him. "Hey, I have plenty of physical activity in my life."  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Activity that doesn't involve a bed?"  
  
Lorelai thought for a moment, then said, "Um, no, not really."  
  
Luke smirked. "See?" He took a sip of his water and said, "So, this wasn't bad right? It was kinda fun."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it was nice. I liked the penguins."  
  
Luke smiled. "I could tell by the way you gave them all new names."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Well, the aquarium people gave them all stupid names. That one penguin did not look like a Mikey. Who names a penguin Mikey?" She shook her head in disbelief. "That one definitely looked more like a Howard."  
  
"They all look exactly the same, so if one looks like a Howard, they all look like a Howard," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "That's not true! They're all unique. If I give birth to identical twins, I'm not gonna give them the same name just because they look alike."  
  
Luke nodded, then took a sip of water. He paused a moment, then asked, "You meant that hypothetically, right?"  
  
Confused, Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "Meant what?"  
  
"The. . .you giving birth part," he replied. "You were just using that as an example, right?"  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Man, look at you getting all nervous!" She took a sip of soda before she nodded and said, "Yes, that was purely a hypothetical scenario."  
  
Luke nodded and placed the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth. After he finished it, he wiped his lips with a napkin and said, "So you know what I was thinking about for dinner?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, what?"  
  
"Foxwoods," he replied.  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Wow, really?"  
  
Luke nodded. "I was flipping through the brochure earlier and they have a lot of different places to eat there. And they have a bunch of different entertainment type things, like a night club with musical and comedy acts and stuff."  
  
Lorelai shook her head and let out a laugh. "That's so not you. I can't picture you in a night club atmosphere at all."  
  
Luke groaned. "Trust me, neither can I. But we might as well check it out while we're here."  
  
Lorelai rubbed her hands together excitedly. "And then we can go gambling!"  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. "No gambling," he said sternly.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Why?"  
  
Luke's eyes widened and he leaned toward her. "Why? Because it's a waste of money, for one. Do you have any idea how many problems in society are caused by gambling? Do you know how many people in this country are in debt because of gambling addictions? Do you know how much money taxpayers pay each year because casinos -"  
  
Lorelai held up her hand. "Okay, okay, I got it. Stop now before the anti- gambling rant goes any further."  
  
Luke leaned back against his chair. "We'll go there, get some dinner, maybe catch a show, that's it."  
  
Lorelai shook her head slightly. "I don't know, Luke. It sounds like you're going against your own rant. You know, by eating there and participating in other entertainment activities there, you're contributing to the casino's profits," she pointed out. "You're helping this evil casino become more stable so that it can live on forever and ever and destroy all of society as we know it."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly. "Do you wanna go?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah."  
  
* * *  
  
That evening, they were driving from the casino back to the hotel. Lorelai pulled a container of Tic-Tac's from her purse and popped a couple into her mouth. She held it out to Luke. "Want some?"  
  
He shook his head. "No, thanks. So, uh, that food was good, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, very good," Lorelai agreed. "So was the wine."  
  
"And that comedian. . . he was pretty funny, huh?" Luke said, giving her a sideways glance.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, he was, but did you see that freaky thing he kept doing with his head, though?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" he asked.  
  
"He kept moving his head around every time he made a joke," Lorelai said, imitating him. "He was like a bobble head doll."  
  
Luke was quiet for a moment, then he exhaled loudly. "Do you always have to make fun of people?"  
  
Lorelai was surprised. "What?" she asked, turning to look at him  
  
Luke kept his eyes on the road as he spoke. "I mean, the guy tonight was funny, but instead of just saying, 'Yeah, he was funny', you have to point out something negative about him. You just always seem to find something wrong with everyone."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "I do not!" she said, taking offense.  
  
"Oh no?" Luke said. "What about when we were in the elevator earlier and that lady told you she liked your purse? She was being polite to you but as soon as she got off, you made fun of her hair."  
  
"It looked like a ratty old mop!" Lorelai exclaimed.  
  
"But you didn't have to say that!" Luke retorted. "You could've just thought it to yourself. And what about at breakfast when you commented about that guy's outfit not matching?"  
  
"Well, it didn't," Lorelai said.  
  
"And don't get me started about all the people you picked on at the aquarium," Luke said.  
  
"Ugh!" Lorelai groaned, clenching her fists tightly. "Stop already!"  
  
"And out on the patio when you were talking about all those people," Luke continued.  
  
"What?" Lorelai exclaimed. "You were talking about those people too! Don't deny that!"  
  
"I'm not denying that, but my point is that you do it all the time," Luke said. "You should try not to be so judgmental."  
  
Lorelai glared at him for a second before she huffed loudly. "Whatever," she muttered.  
  
"Look, it was just an observation. I didn't want to start a fight," Luke said, staring straight ahead.  
  
"Yeah, well, you did," Lorelai snapped. She folded her arms across her chest and looked out the passenger window. Luke sighed loudly and they drove back to the hotel in silence.  
  
* * *  
  
They entered their hotel room and Lorelai walked directly into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Luke removed his suit jacket and hung it up, then took off his shoes and socks. He took off his pants, and as he draped them over the armchair, Lorelai walked out of the bathroom now wearing her robe. Luke watched her as she hung up her dress in the closet, then walked over to the couch and sat down. She turned on the television and started flipping through the channels. Now wearing just his T-shirt and boxers, Luke walked into the bathroom.  
  
A few minutes later, he came out of the bathroom and slowly walked over to the couch. He sat down next to her, and she continued to stare straight ahead at the television. Luke reached over and gently slid the remote out of her grip, and she let him without putting up a fight. He turned off the television and turned to face her as she sighed and folded her arms across her chest.  
  
Luke stared at her for a moment before he spoke. "I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't bringing it up to be mean. I was just making a point. I mean, you always seem to point out other people's faults, and . . . you know, there's probably some sort of reason behind that."  
  
"Oh God, you're a psychiatrist now? You're Dr. Frasier Crane?" Lorelai asked, rolling her eyes.  
  
"No, I'm not," Luke replied. "I'm a guy who's wondering why you have the constant need to mock people so much. I think you do it because you want to feel better about yourself."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "I do not! I do it because . . .because. . ." Her voice trailed off.  
  
"Because. . ." he prompted her.  
  
She stared at him for several seconds with pursed lips. Finally, she sighed and said, "I don't know why, okay? Maybe it is for that reason - I don't know."  
  
"Okay, let's forget it. It's no big deal. Sorry for bringing it up," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai let out a long sigh. "Mocking people is like second nature to me. I'm just so used to doing it that I don't realize I'm doing it," she said with a shrug.  
  
Luke took one of her hands into his and stroked it with his thumb. "I know - which is why you're probably gonna keep doing it for the rest of your life," he said, smiling.  
  
She smiled. "Probably, but now I'll be more conscious of it and maybe once in awhile, I'll feel bad about it."  
  
He shook his head. "Probably not."  
  
She smiled and shrugged. "It could happen. I'm sure there's at least one ounce of kindness in me that might feel guilty about making fun of someone. . . someday."  
  
"Well, that's a good goal to have," Luke said, nodding. He ran his hand up and down her thigh. "So. . .we're good now?"  
  
She smiled. "We're good." She leaned back against the arm of the couch and pulled him on top of her. He kissed her hungrily, darting his tongue into her mouth with an aggression that made a surge of arousal shoot through her body. He untied her robe and smiled when he discovered there was nothing underneath, then pulled her up off the couch and led her to the bed.  
  
* * *  
  
Not long after, Lorelai collapsed on top of Luke, resting for several seconds before she finally rolled off of him. "Oh. . .my. . .God," Lorelai panted. "Is it just me or was that ten times better than usual?"  
  
Breathing heavy, Luke replied, "It wasn't just you." He breathed heavy for a few seconds, then added, "Think about it - you know why it was so good."  
  
Lorelai brushed her hair out of her eyes and thought for a moment, then turned and smiled at Luke. "Ah, we had a fight," she said knowingly.  
  
Luke smiled and nodded. They were silent for a few moments as they caught their breaths, then Luke stood up and walked over to the couch. He picked up a magazine from the end table and brought it back to the bed. He placed it on her chest and said, "Page forty-six, third paragraph."  
  
Lorelai looked at him curiously, then picked up the magazine and found the page. She read the third paragraph, letting out a loud gasp as she finished it. She lowered the magazine and stared at Luke with wide eyes. "Oh my God, Luke Danes, you set me up!" she exclaimed with a laugh.  
  
Luke smiled. "I was just following directions."  
  
She brought the magazine back up and read the third paragraph aloud. "Remember, it's a well-known fact that makeup sex is always spectacular, so if you don't mind being the bad guy for a little while, bring up a topic you know will start an argument. However, keep in mind, it must be something that will be easily resolved or you might end up on the couch instead." Lorelai lowered the magazine and laughed. "Oh my God! I can't believe this was all a setup!"  
  
"Good, huh?" Luke asked with a sly smile.  
  
She smacked his shoulder with the magazine. "You took advice from Cosmo?"  
  
He smiled. "Hey, it was good advice, was it not?"  
  
She smiled and nodded. "Yes, it was." She paused and thought for a moment. "You knew that I'd say something about that guy's bobbling head, didn't you?"  
  
Luke smiled. "You're very predictable sometimes."  
  
She shook her head slightly and smiled. "Then you added all that other stuff in to start a fight. Wow, I'm giving you much deserved credit - you usually suck at lying."  
  
"Well, it helped that it was dark in the car so you couldn't see my nervous face," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "So, does this mean that you don't think I make fun of people too much?"  
  
He shook his head. "No, you definitely do, but as long as it's not me, I don't really care."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Good to know." She smacked him playfully and added, "You know, you had me upset there for awhile. That was kinda mean."  
  
He nodded. "I know, sorry. You'll have to blame Cosmo for that."  
  
"You're lucky that I wasn't in a fighting mood tonight, Luke," Lorelai informed him. "This plan could've backfired right in your face and I could've given you the silent treatment all night. You know, I can be really stubborn sometimes."  
  
"Really? I hadn't noticed," Luke said sarcastically.  
  
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Ha ha." She smiled and pushed him down so he was lying on his back, then climbed on top of him and straddled his stomach. She leaned down and kissed him, then pulled back and said, "So, we have to go home tomorrow." She leaned down and kissed him again.  
  
As she pulled away from him, he said, "Yes, we do."  
  
She ran her hands over his chest as she said, "There's pretty much two options for tonight."  
  
Luke ran his hands up and down her thighs. "Two options?"  
  
"Uh huh. We can either go to bed right now," she said, leaning down to kiss him again. She pulled back from his lips and ran her tongue down his chest to his stomach. She sat back up and raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Or we can try to set a new Guinness World Record for the most sex in one night."  
  
Luke smiled. "Hmm, I'll go with option two." He pulled her body close to his and rolled them over so that he was on top of her. He kissed her deeply before he pulled back and said, "Oh, unless you wanted option number one." She smiled and shook her head, then pressed her lips tightly against his.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Luke gently rubbed Lorelai's back to wake her up. "Lorelai," he said softly. "Lorelai, wake up."  
  
She groaned and buried her face in the pillow. "Leave me alone," she mumbled.  
  
Luke put his hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly. "Come on, get up."  
  
Lorelai lifted her head to look at the clock. "Luke, are you crazy? We just went to bed like three hours ago!" she exclaimed in a loud whisper. She put her head back down and closed her eyes.  
  
"We still have to pack," Luke reminded her. "We have to be out of here by eleven."  
  
"Fine, you go pack, call me when you're done," she muttered, pulling the blanket around her tightly.  
  
"I'm not packing your stuff, I have my own things to pack," Luke said. "Now get up, you can sleep on the car ride home."  
  
Lorelai groaned into her pillow and mumbled, "I don't wanna go home. I love it here."  
  
"Yeah, well, if we spend one more day here I'll have to sell a kidney on the black market to pay for it," Luke replied. "Come on, get up." Lorelai continued to ignore his requests. Luke sighed and stared at her for a moment, thinking. Finally, he smiled and said, "If you wanna see Rory today, you'll have to get up and go home."  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes and smiled to herself as she slowly lifted her head up from the pillow. She yawned as she sat up in the bed. "Good point. I'm up." She shivered and pulled the covers up over her arms. "Geez, it's always cold in here."  
  
Luke climbed off the bed and walked over to the couch. He picked up Lorelai's robe and tossed it to her. "Here."  
  
"Thanks." She pulled it on, then leaned against the headboard and closed her eyes.  
  
Luke sighed as he walked over to the bed and grabbed her hand. "Come on, you're falling back asleep." He pulled her off the bed and led her to the bathroom. He gave her a little push through the door and said, "There, go take a shower. It'll wake you up."  
  
She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "No, coffee will wake me up." She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.  
  
Luke sighed. "Look, you get in the shower and I'll go get us some breakfast."  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes. "With coffee?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"With coffee," he muttered, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai grinned. "Thank you."  
  
* * *  
  
After her shower, Lorelai walked out of the bathroom and found that Luke had spread some of the suitcases open on the bed and had started packing. Lorelai walked over to him and hugged him from behind. She nuzzled her nose against his neck and said, "Mm, you smell good."  
  
Luke pointed to the table. "I think that's the coffee and muffins you smell."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened as she glanced at the table. "Ooh!" she exclaimed. She walked over and took a long sip of coffee. "Mmm, that's good." She glanced at the three large muffins and laughed. "Are these all for me?"  
  
"Yup," he said. "I already ate a bagel." He grabbed a pile of clothes from the bed. "I'm gonna go take a shower. As soon as you're done eating, start packing. We only have an hour and a half." He walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.  
  
Lorelai sat at the table and ate two of the muffins. She finished up the coffee, then got dressed before she started packing. When Luke walked out of the bathroom, he nodded approvingly at her almost-filled suitcases. "Good job. I'm impressed."  
  
She smiled. "What, you didn't think I knew how to pack?"  
  
"No, I didn't think you knew how to follow directions," he replied.  
  
"Yeah, I have problems with that sometimes," Lorelai said. "That's why I failed kindergarten." She tossed a pile of shirts into a suitcase, then grabbed her duffel bag and walked into the bathroom to collect her toiletries.  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, they called for a concierge, who brought up a cart for their luggage. He helped them load it up, then rolled it out into the hallway to wait for them.  
  
Luke and Lorelai took one final walk through the hotel room, making sure that nothing had been forgotten. "I think we have everything," Luke said.  
  
"Yup, all clear in there," Lorelai said, walking out of the bathroom.  
  
They stood at the foot of the bed. Luke pulled her into a hug and she brought her arms up around his waist and hugged him back tightly.  
  
After several seconds, Lorelai pulled back and smiled at him. "This was the most incredible weekend," she said quietly. "Really, everything was perfect. Thank you."  
  
Luke smiled and kissed her. "You're welcome."  
  
Lorelai leaned her forehead against his. "I love you," she said.  
  
He brushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes and smiled at her. "I love you, too." They kissed passionately before he took her hand and led her out of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 22  
  
* * *  
  
They went down to the front desk to check out, then Lorelai and the concierge waited outside by the entrance as Luke brought the car around. The men loaded the luggage into the trunk, and Lorelai watched from inside the Jeep as Luke tipped the concierge and climbed into the driver's seat.  
  
Lorelai stared up at the hotel as they drove through the parking lot. As they turned onto the road, she leaned back against her seat with a loud sigh. "I miss Harold already."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you named the bed."  
  
"He was a good bed," Lorelai said. "I bet he misses us, too. I bet when he's hanging out with his bed friends later, he's gonna brag about how lucky he was to have had such a hot couple."  
  
"Mmhmm," Luke muttered.  
  
"Uh huh." Lorelai nodded. "But they might not believe him. We should've left a picture of us under the mattress so he had proof."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Well, next time we'll try to get the same room so we can give him a picture."  
  
Lorelai turned to him and smiled. "Next time?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Yeah. Might be nice to make this. . . a yearly thing or something."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Sounds good." She stared out the window. "Are you sure you know how to get home?"  
  
"Yes, I know how," Luke assured her. "Take a nap or something."  
  
"Nah, I'm not tired anymore," Lorelai said. She reached down and turned on the radio.  
  
Luke groaned. "You know I hate having the radio on when I'm driving."  
  
"Uh, no you don't," Lorelai told him, narrowing her eyes at him.  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Oh, I don't?"  
  
"No, because I love having the radio on when I'm driving, and you love me, so that means that you love having the radio on when you're driving. It's a chain reaction," Lorelai explained as she flipped through the stations.  
  
Luke exhaled loudly. "Right," he muttered.  
  
She skimmed through several stations, then groaned. "Nothing good's on." As she turned it off, Luke smiled to himself. Lorelai noticed and raised her eyebrows. "I see your proud little smile. You think you won."  
  
"I did win," he said.  
  
"No, you didn't," Lorelai replied, shaking her head. "I didn't turn it off because you don't like it, I turned it off because there's nothing on. That doesn't mean you won."  
  
"Okay, fine, no one won," Luke said. Lorelai stared at him for a moment, a small smirk on her face. He glanced over at her and shrugged. "What?"  
  
"You still think you won," Lorelai said knowingly.  
  
Luke smiled as he stared straight ahead. "Do not."  
  
Lorelai let out a small laugh. "You know, we're defying the odds by being together. Two people as competitive and stubborn as us - it's surprising that we've gone this long without killing each other."  
  
"Yeah, well, we've had a long time to get used to each other," Luke pointed out.  
  
"True," Lorelai agreed. "If we were two random strangers and we got set up with each other on Change of Heart or something, then it wouldn't have worked out."  
  
"Change of Heart?" Luke asked, confused.  
  
"Forget it," she replied, waving him off. "I think I'm the only one who's ever watched that show. The point is. . . " She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "That it's a good thing we knew each other so well before we went out."  
  
"Yup," Luke said, nodding. Lorelai rested back against her seat and stared out the passenger window. They drove for a few more seconds before Luke said, "Uh, Lorelai?"  
  
She turned and looked at him. "Hm?"  
  
Luke bit his lip momentarily before he asked, "Did we pass the turnoff for the highway?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and pulled the map out of the glove compartment.  
  
* * *  
  
They pulled up to Lorelai's house slightly before one o'clock. Luke turned off the engine and they sat for a few minutes talking in the Jeep.  
  
"The archway looks nice with the plants and stuff on it," Luke said, gesturing to the chuppa.  
  
Lorelai looked at it and smiled. "Yeah, it does."  
  
"So, now, did you name all of the animals or just some of them?" Luke asked.  
  
"All of them," Lorelai replied, smiling. "Wanna know their names?"  
  
Luke smiled and shook his head. "No thanks, but explain this to me - you told me awhile ago that you're not good at naming things, but you seem to have a name for every object known to man."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "That's not true. I don't name everything."  
  
"Hm, let's see," Luke said, ticking them off on his fingers. "Cars, animals, strangers, beds, appliances, toolboxes."  
  
Lorelai leaned toward him so that her lips were only inches from his. She smiled and said, "You forgot body parts."  
  
Luke smiled and nodded. "Oh yeah, can't forget that one."  
  
Lorelai giggled and ran her hand over Luke's denim-covered thigh. "How is Chester?"  
  
"He's, uh, very satisfied," Luke said, smiling.  
  
"Good, I'm glad," Lorelai said. She pressed her lips against his as she brought her hands up to his face and ran her fingers over the stubble on his cheeks.  
  
Seconds later, they stepped out of the car and opened the trunk. Luke took out Lorelai's garment bag and handed it to her, then took out her duffel bag and one of her suitcases. They walked up the front porch, and Luke unlocked the door and pushed it open.  
  
"I'm home!" Lorelai called as she walked into the house.  
  
Luke followed her inside. "Who are you talking to?"  
  
Lorelai scoffed as if it was obvious. "The house. It probably missed me."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Of course." He put the luggage by the stairs and walked back out to get her other suitcase. Lorelai pushed play on the answering machine and listened to her messages, and Luke returned just as she was deleting them. "Anyone good?" he asked.  
  
"Not really," Lorelai said. "Unless you count the one from my mother saying that she hates machines."  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "That's it? That's all she said?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yup. 'Lorelai, I hate talking to this stupid machine.' That was the whole message," she said with a shrug. She walked over to the desk and turned on the lamp as Luke started carrying one of the suitcases up the steps. "Aw, that's okay, I can get that," Lorelai said.  
  
"No, it's heavy, I got it," Luke said, continuing up the staircase.  
  
Lorelai grabbed her garment bag and followed him up to her bedroom. "I'll take my dresses out of here so you can take your suit home."  
  
"Thanks." Luke put the suitcase on her bed and walked down to get the other one. Lorelai removed her dresses from the overstuffed garment bag and tossed them on her chair, then zipped the bag back up. Luke returned with her other suitcase and set it by the door. "There you go."  
  
"Great, thanks," Lorelai replied. She held out the garment bag. "Here's your suit."  
  
Luke took it from her. "Thanks."  
  
They walked downstairs and to the front door. As Luke pulled it open, he pulled her keys from his pocket and held them up. "I was just gonna take the Jeep home since all my stuff's in it anyway. Is that okay?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Absolutely. I'll pick it up later."  
  
"Okay," Luke replied. He kissed her. "See you later."  
  
"Mmkay," she replied. He started to walk away, but Lorelai reached out and grabbed his arm. Luke turned around, a surprised look on his face. Lorelai stepped up to him and kissed him deeply, running her fingers through his hair. She smiled through the kiss and said, "Thank you."  
  
Luke smiled. "You're welcome. Bye."  
  
"Bye," Lorelai replied. Lorelai smiled to herself as she watched him walk across the lawn and climb into the Jeep. He gave her a small wave as he pulled away, and Lorelai slowly shut the front door.  
  
* * *  
  
Several hours later, Lorelai sat on the couch reading, glancing at the clock every few minutes as she waited for Rory to come home.  
  
When she finally heard a car outside, she jumped up off the couch. She ran to the front door and pulled it open, smiling excitedly when she saw the Volvo parked out front.  
  
Rory climbed out of the passenger seat, her eyes lighting up when she saw Lorelai. "Mom!" She walked quickly toward the porch.  
  
Lorelai ran towards Rory and threw her arms around her. "Oh my God, you're never going anywhere ever again! We are going out tomorrow and getting permanently attached at the hip."  
  
Rory laughed as she hugged her back tightly. "We didn't think you were home yet. Where's the car?"  
  
"Luke has it," Lorelai replied. They hugged for a few more seconds before they finally pulled apart. "Okay, let me look at you," Lorelai said. She stepped back and looked Rory up and down. "Uh huh, uh huh, okay, you look relatively normal."  
  
Christopher had pulled Rory's bags out of the trunk and had walked over to them. "Relatively normal?" he asked with a small laugh.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I can't be sure that she's completely normal until I do a few more tests later."  
  
"Okay, just don't give her a drug test for a few more hours." Christopher winked at Rory. "Right, hon?"  
  
Rory smiled. "Right." She picked up her duffel bag and started walking toward the front door.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Very funny," she said, turning to Christopher. "So where's Sherry?"  
  
"She had some work to catch up on at home since she took Friday off," Christopher said.  
  
"Work?" Lorelai asked. "Like, what - she has to test out the makeup or something?"  
  
"Yeah, she sits in front of a mirror for hours at a time and just keeps slathering it on," Chris said. "The look's quite becoming."  
  
"Huh," Lorelai said, smiling. "Sounds fun."  
  
Christopher picked up Rory's suitcase and they walked into the house. They went to Rory's room where Rory was standing at the foot of her bed already unloading her duffel bag. She pulled a few books out of the bag and walked over to the bookshelf.  
  
Lorelai gasped and turned to Christopher. "Oh my God, what is she doing?"  
  
Christopher set the suitcase down near the bed. "Uh, it looks like she's unpacking."  
  
Lorelai grabbed Rory's arm. "Stop that. Only freaks unpack the minute they walk through the door. Come tell me about your trip first," Lorelai said, pulling her into the kitchen. "What'd you do, what'd you see, what'd you eat, how many times did you have to ask people with Boston accents to repeat themselves?"  
  
Christopher followed them into the kitchen. "Okay, I should get going before your mom starts asking questions like, how many times did you blink?"  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Those questions don't come until the very end."  
  
"Dad, why don't you stay a little while?" Rory asked. "You just drove for two hours, you don't wanna jump right back in the car, do you?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, Chris, stay. Have dinner with us, at least."  
  
"Please Dad?" Rory asked hopefully.  
  
Christopher shrugged. "I don't know, it's getting late."  
  
Lorelai looked at the clock. "It's 5:30," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Come on, we'll go to Luke's." Rory and Lorelai walked to the front hallway.  
  
Christopher trailed behind them, asking, "Luke won't mind?"  
  
Lorelai turned around, a surprised look on her face. "What? Why would Luke mind?"  
  
"Hey, more customers means more profit," Rory said as she stepped out onto the front porch.  
  
Lorelai looked at Christopher curiously. "Why would Luke mind?" she repeated.  
  
Christopher shrugged. "I don't know. Some people get jealous when their . . . significant others hang out with their exes."  
  
Lorelai smirked. "Some people - like Sherry?"  
  
Christopher shook his head. "No, Sherry's perfectly fine with me being here." They stepped out onto the porch and pulled the door shut behind them.  
  
"So is Luke," Lorelai said. The three of them started walking across the yard. Rory walked a few feet ahead of them as they continued to talk.  
  
"Good," he said. "I don't want him to flip out on me or something."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Oh my God, are you serious? The only way Luke would flip out on you is if you tried to attack us or kidnap us or something. Were you planning on doing that while you're here?"  
  
"No, that's not on the agenda this time," Christopher replied, smiling.  
  
Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "Then he's cool with it. You're Rory's dad, Chris - he's happy that you're spending time with her."  
  
Christopher smirked. "He's Mr. Perfect, huh?"  
  
"Nobody's perfect," Lorelai said, shaking her head. She paused a moment before she smiled and added, "But he comes pretty damn close." They increased their pace to catch up to Rory. "So, tell me about all about your trip!" Lorelai said excitedly, linking her arm through Rory's.  
  
* * *  
  
They pulled open the door to the diner and sat down at the table in front of the large picture window. When Rory and Christopher finished up their story about touring the Harvard libraries, Lorelai glanced over at the counter and saw Luke, who was facing away from them. She excused herself from the table, then walked behind the counter and tapped Luke on the shoulder.  
  
He turned around and smiled when he saw who it was. "Hey."  
  
Lorelai kissed his cheek. "Hey." She pointed toward her table. "Rory's home."  
  
Luke glanced over at the table and smiled. "Good. Did she have a good time?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yup. We're gonna have dinner with Chris before he heads back. How's work so far?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Uneventful. Patty came in here looking for you earlier."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Lorelai asked, smiling. "She probably just wants to hear about our weekend."  
  
"Yeah, well, just summarize it for her. She doesn't need to know the details," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Aw, but I already made a miniature model of the hotel, and I made little figures out of clay so that we can invite the entire town over and give them a full visual reenactment of the trip." She smiled as she leaned forward and said, "The clay figures have removable clothing."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "No details," he repeated.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Fine, fine, no details."  
  
"I'll be right over with coffee. Three?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yup." She walked back to the table. As she slid into her seat, she said, "Hey, did you guys go to the real Cheers?"  
  
"Ooh, we went past it," Rory said excitedly. "It was so neat. We saw Cliff's mail truck parked out front."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Really? I hope you got a picture of that." Lorelai started drumming her hands on the table.  
  
After several seconds, Christopher put his hands on top of hers and said, "Were you planning on doing that the entire time?"  
  
Lorelai smirked. "No, I wasn't planning on it, but now that I know it bothers you, I think I will."  
  
Christopher rolled his eyes and removed his hands from hers. Lorelai started drumming her hands on the table again, making Christopher groan with annoyance. A few seconds later, Luke walked over with their coffee. "Stop," he said, placing their mugs on the table.  
  
Lorelai stopped and frowned. "You guys are no fun."  
  
Christopher let out a small laugh. "Wow, finally someone who can make her listen. I didn't think I'd live to see the day." Lorelai made a face at him and took a sip of coffee.  
  
Luke leaned slightly toward Christopher. "See, it's all in the tone of voice," he explained. "You have to be stern and tough, and you can't let her see that she's bothering you because that sadistic edge of hers comes out and she'll try to drive you crazy."  
  
Christopher smiled and nodded. "I know what you mean. It's quite an annoying attribute she's got there."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "I'm right here, you know. Hmph."  
  
Luke stood back up and smiled at Rory. "Good to have you home."  
  
"Thanks," Rory said, smiling up at him. "It's good to be back."  
  
"You have a good time?" Luke asked.  
  
"Yup, it was great," Rory said, nodding. "Dad said maybe I could come back and visit this summer."  
  
Lorelai looked at Christopher. "Oh really?"  
  
"Uh, you know, if it's okay with you," Christopher said.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "We'll see."  
  
"What about you?" Rory asked. "Did you guys have fun?"  
  
Luke gave a quick smile toward Lorelai and nodded. "Yeah, we did." He pulled out his order pad. "What'll you guys have?"  
  
"Burger and fries," Lorelai replied quickly.  
  
"Same," Rory said.  
  
"Same," Christopher said.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Healthy family," he muttered, walking away.  
  
Lorelai smiled, then she glanced out the window. "Honey, Dean's out there with some friends."  
  
"Oh really?" Rory turned around to look. "I was gonna call him after we ate. I'm gonna go tell him I'm home," she said, standing up.  
  
"You probably won't have to tell him. I think when he sees you walking out there, he'll figure it out," Christopher said.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "Be right back." She walked out of the diner.  
  
Lorelai took a sip of coffee and glanced toward Luke at the counter. She smiled to herself, then brought her gaze to Christopher, who was smiling at her with his arms folded across his chest. "What?"  
  
Christopher shrugged and glanced over at Luke. "You spent the whole weekend with him and you're still talking to each other, so that must mean things are going well."  
  
"They are," Lorelai said, nodding. "They're going very well."  
  
Christopher took a sip of coffee. "I'm happy for you."  
  
Lorelai tilted her head and smiled at him. "Thank you," she said. "Me too - I mean, I'm happy for you, too."  
  
"Thanks," Christopher said. They smiled at each other as Rory walked back into the diner and sat down at the table.  
  
* * *  
  
As they finished eating, they continued to talk over coffee, sharing stories of both of their trips. After awhile, Lorelai glanced at the check, then picked up her purse and pulled out her wallet.  
  
"No, I got it," Christopher said, pulling out his wallet. "Though I'm surprised you guys still pay for food here."  
  
"Luke tries to give it to us for free, but mom refuses to let him," Rory explained.  
  
"We're not indigent," she said, rolling her eyes. "There's no reason we shouldn't pay like everyone else."  
  
Christopher looked at the check, then dropped some money on the table. "Okay, ready to go?"  
  
Lorelai picked up the check and the money, then pointed to her Jeep through the window. "You guys go wait in the car. I'll get the keys from Luke and drive us home."  
  
Christopher and Rory walked out of the diner as Lorelai walked up to the counter. Luke was talking with a customer at the other end, and she waited patiently for him to walk over to her.  
  
When he did, Lorelai handed him the money. "We're gonna get going. Did you get your stuff out of the car?"  
  
"Yeah, hold on." Luke put the money in the register, then reached into his pocket and pulled out her keys. "Here you go," he said, handing them to her.  
  
"Thanks," she said.  
  
"I'll call you later," Luke said.  
  
"Mmkay." Lorelai leaned over the counter and kissed him. "Bye."  
  
"Bye," Luke replied.  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, Christopher had left and Rory had gone into her room to unpack. Despite it only being seven o'clock, Lorelai went upstairs and changed into her pajamas. She walked back down and wandered into Rory's room. "Need some help?"  
  
"Sure," Rory said. She noticed the pajamas and smiled. "Tired already?"  
  
"Nah, I just wanted to get more comfortable," Lorelai said. She pulled some perfectly-folded shirts out of Rory's suitcase. "Are these clean? They look clean."  
  
"Everything's clean," Rory said. "Sherry washed everything for me this afternoon."  
  
Lorelai, surprised, gave a sly smile. "Wow, check out her trying to be all Martha Stewart-ish with her guests." She stuffed the shirts into one of the drawers.  
  
"Yeah, I sort of mentioned that we both hate doing laundry, so she offered to do it for me and I took her up on it," Rory said as she place two pairs of jeans into her pants drawer.  
  
"You took her up on it?" Lorelai asked, surprised. "You never take people up on anything."  
  
"Yeah, well, Sherry's very persistent," Rory said. "I sort of learned that it's easier to just take her up on things right away to save time."  
  
"Smart girl," Lorelai said, smiling.  
  
They unpacked for a few more minutes before Rory said, "You know, on the car ride home, Dad was asking me about Luke."  
  
Lorelai was standing at the dresser, and she froze momentarily. She dropped the pile of socks she was holding into the drawer, then quickly turned around. "What did he say?"  
  
"He was asking me what he was like, what I thought about him, stuff like that," Rory said, sitting down on the edge of her bed.  
  
"And. . ." Lorelai prompted. "What did you tell him?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "That he's great. . .that I like him a lot."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Good, I'm glad. I mean, not just because you told him that, but that. . you feel that way."  
  
Rory nodded and glanced down at her hands. She fidgeted for a moment before she sighed and said, "But it was really weird."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "How come? Because he was asking you a lot of questions?"  
  
Rory shook her head. "No, because. . . I wanted to tell him how Luke has always been there for us and how he's always been around since I can remember, but. . ." Her voice trailed off and she bit her lip.  
  
Lorelai nodded understandingly. "I get it."  
  
Rory sighed softly. "I just. . .didn't want him to feel bad."  
  
"I completely get it," Lorelai said, sitting down next to her on the bed.  
  
"But, I mean. . .I feel like I know Luke better than I know Dad," Rory said. "I mean, lately things have been really great, how Dad's been calling and everything, but still. . ."  
  
"But a part of you still remembers your old dad, the one who was hardly around for the first sixteen years?" Lorelai suggested.  
  
Rory shrugged and stared down at the floor. "Kind of." She was silent for a moment before she said, "But I feel bad for thinking like that since he's been much better lately."  
  
"I know he has," Lorelai said, nodding. "I'm really happy about that."  
  
"Me too," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai put her arm around Rory's shoulder. "Rory, it's okay if you feel a little upset at your dad sometimes. I mean, even though we both love him and he's getting his life together now - it's still the truth that he hasn't always been the greatest role model, you know? It's not something we're being unreasonable about or making up - it's just. . .the truth. You know?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Yeah, I get it."  
  
"I mean, sometimes I'm even surprised that you're not . . . more upset with him," Lorelai said. "Most kids in your position wouldn't even give him the time of day. But that's what makes you special, that's what makes you the nicest kid in the world," she said, pinching her cheek.  
  
"Okay, okay," Rory said, laughing as she pushed Lorelai's hand away. She leaned over and gave Lorelai a hug. As she pulled back, she said, "I told Dad that I've never seen you so happy."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Really?" Rory smiled and nodded. She walked over to her desk and turned on the computer. Lorelai stood up. "You probably have homework, huh?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Yeah, I have some things to finish up."  
  
"Okay, I'll be watching tv," Lorelai said. Lorelai started to walk toward the door, then she turned around, walked back to Rory, and hugged her tightly. "I missed you."  
  
"Me too, Mom," Rory said, hugging her back.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that evening, Lorelai lay on the couch watching television as the phone rang. She pressed mute on the remote and answered it. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai smiled at the sound of his voice. "Hey. How was work?"  
  
Luke groaned. "Long. Maybe it's because I hadn't been there in so long, but it just seemed to drag on forever."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Aww, I'm sorry."  
  
"Not your fault," he replied.  
  
"So, how did Jess make out this weekend? Did you get any complaints?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"None so far," Luke replied, sounding surprised. "Caesar said he showed up when he was supposed to, he didn't cause any trouble, didn't get in the way."  
  
"Wow," Lorelai said, sounding just as surprised. "Who woulda thought?"  
  
"Not me," Luke replied. "I'm still waiting for Taylor to burst through the door and accuse him of doing something."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Hey, just appreciate it while it lasts. Who knows how long he'll be going through this Beaver Cleaver stage."  
  
"Yeah, you're right," Luke said. "What about Rory? How was her trip?"  
  
"Amazing," Lorelai replied. "She went on and on about her Harvard tour and about all the places they visited in the city and everything. She had a great time."  
  
"Good, that's good. I'm glad she had fun," Luke said. "Did you call your mom?"  
  
"Nah, I'll call her tomorrow," Lorelai replied. "No use ruining the end of the weekend."  
  
"Good plan," Luke said, yawning.  
  
"Aw, you should go to bed," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke stifled another yawn. "Yeah, I think I will."  
  
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," Lorelai said. "Love you."  
  
"Love you too," Luke replied. "Bye."  
  
"Bye," Lorelai replied.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai walked into the kitchen of the Independence Inn. "Sookie, Sookie, Sookie," she said in a singsong voice.  
  
Sookie looked up from the menu she was writing out. "Hey!" she said excitedly. "Oh my God, you're here!"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, I am." She walked over to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup.  
  
Sookie rubbed her hands together. "I want all the details! How was it?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I'm assuming you're talking about last night's episode of Alias, in which the hot guy was just as hot as ever. Man, sometimes I stare at him so hard I feel like I'm cheating on Luke."  
  
Sookie rolled her eyes. "Okay, forget last night's Alias and tell me about your weekend!"  
  
Lorelai walked over to her and leaned on the counter. "Ah, my weekend." She took a sip of coffee. "You know how some women aspire to have that perfect weekend getaway with their boyfriends but it never happens because something always goes wrong and it turns out awful? Well, I'm thinking about writing a book about my weekend to give other women hope that a nice weekend away with man is still possible." She smiled. "It was unbelievable, Sookie. It was absolutely perfect."  
  
Sookie giggled and rubbed Lorelai's arm excitedly. "Aww! Okay, we are going out for lunch today and I want all the details!"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay."  
  
"So, did you give any more thought to the whole moving in thing?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled and took a sip of coffee.  
  
Sookie narrowed her eyes. "What? What happened?" she asked anxiously.  
  
"I told him yes," Lorelai said.  
  
Sookie gasped and clasped a hand over her mouth. She squealed excitedly before she removed her hand and exclaimed, "No, you didn't!"  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Yup, I did. I told him yes, but not until Rory's out of school. You know, so she doesn't have to deal with this whole new living arrangement thing while she's worrying about school work and stuff."  
  
Sookie nodded. "Good idea."  
  
"Yeah, it's gonna happen in a few months," Lorelai said.  
  
Sookie's eyes widened and she hugged Lorelai tightly. "This is so huge! Lorelai, do you have any idea how huge this news is?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, I do, Sookie."  
  
They pulled away from each other and Sookie asked, "What about Rory? Does she know?"  
  
"Yeah, she's totally cool with it," Lorelai said, nodding.  
  
"Good, good," Sookie said. "And Jess? How's he taking it?"  
  
"I don't know," Lorelai said. "I don't know if Luke told him yet."  
  
"Is that gonna be weird for you? I thought you guys don't get along," Sookie said.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. It'll work out." Lorelai paused and smiled. "Sookie, me and Luke are gonna live together."  
  
Sookie smiled. "I know! This is so exciting! Wait'll Miss Patty finds out about this!"  
  
Lorelai winced. "Ooh, don't say anything to anyone yet, okay? Not until it's a little closer to happening."  
  
"Sure, my lips are sealed," Sookie said, pretending to zip them closed.  
  
"Thanks," Lorelai replied. "Ooh, hey, when do you wanna go wedding dress shopping?"  
  
Sookie smiled. "Anytime. When are you free?"  
  
"Anytime you want to me to be," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Tomorrow after work?" Sookie asked.  
  
"It's a date," Lorelai said. She picked up her coffee cup. "I gotta get back to the desk. Come get me when you're ready to go to lunch."  
  
"Okay. See you later," Sookie said.  
  
As Lorelai walked toward the door, Michel walked into the kitchen holding a single red rose at arm's length in front of him.  
  
Lorelai stopped walking and narrowed her eyes at him. "You practicing to be a vase?"  
  
"Take it, it's for you," Michel said dryly. "The skinny, dopey-looking man just delivered it."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Kirk?" she asked, taking the rose from him.  
  
"I don't care what his name is," Michel replied. "Here, this came with it." He handed her a small sealed envelope and walked back into the lobby.  
  
Lorelai turned to Sookie. "Hmm, wonder who this is from," she said, smiling. She set the rose and her coffee cup down on the counter.  
  
"Come on, open it," Sookie said, clapping her hands together excitedly.  
  
Lorelai opened the envelope and pulled out a small card. She read it to herself and laughed out loud. "Aww."  
  
"What - what does it say?" Sookie asked, trying to look at it.  
  
Lorelai giggled. "It says, 'Thanks for a perfect weekend. Love, Chester.'"  
  
"Chester?" Sookie asked, narrowing her eyes.  
  
"It's an inside joke," Lorelai explained, smiling. She picked up the rose and inhaled the scent, then picked up her coffee cup and walked into the lobby.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 23  
  
* * *  
  
As Lorelai reached the front desk, she lay the rose down next to her purse, then slipped the card into the pocket of her blazer. She pushed her hair behind her ears, then picked up a sheet of paper off the desk. She read over it, then turned to Michel with a confused look. "Michel, when is this from?"  
  
Michel walked over to her and looked down at the paper she was holding. "That's the most recent inventory list. I printed it out a few minutes ago."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "But look at what it says." She pointed to the center of the page. "We're getting low on a bunch of things - soap, mints, cleaning supplies. I told you to order more of these last week."  
  
"Yes, and I did. I sent the order on Friday morning," Michel said, sounding annoyed. "It's just not in the system because we haven't gotten the order confirmations yet."  
  
"Oh," Lorelai said, nodding. "Got it, good, thanks. You can go now." She waved for him to go back to the computer. "And thanks for not being snooty, I appreciate that." Michel walked away with an annoyed huff, and Lorelai smiled to herself.  
  
As she filed the inventory sheet into a binder, the phone rang. Lorelai glanced at Michel, who made no move to answer the phone. Lorelai sighed and answered it herself. "Independence Inn."  
  
"Lorelai?" a voice asked.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Mom?"  
  
"Didn't you get my message?" Emily asked haughtily.  
  
"Yes, I did, Mom," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Oh, and you couldn't give me the common courtesy of calling me back?" Emily asked.  
  
"I was going to call you back later this morning, Mom. However, you have no justifiable right to be mad about me not calling you back immediately because in the message, you technically didn't ask me to call you back. All you said is that you hate machines," Lorelai pointed out.  
  
"When someone calls you, they obviously want to talk to you. That means that you should always call them back to see what they wanted to talk to you about," Emily said. "I thought that was basic common knowledge. Of course, not everyone is blessed with basic common knowledge."  
  
Lorelai exhaled loudly. "So, did you want something in particular, Mom? I have things to do."  
  
"I wanted to find out why you made your father tell me on Friday morning that you and Rory couldn't make it to Friday night dinner," Emily said indignantly.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry we had to miss dinner, Mom, but I didn't make Dad tell you. I called there with the intention of telling you myself but you weren't home and he offered to tell you for me."  
  
"Well, whatever the circumstances are, why don't you explain what was so important that you had to miss dinner," Emily said.  
  
"Didn't Dad tell you why?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"No, he just said that you girls couldn't make it, and that instead he would take me out for dinner," Emily said.  
  
Lorelai smiled to herself. "Aw, that must've been nice, Mom."  
  
"Yes, it was lovely," Emily said. "Now explain."  
  
Lorelai sighed. "It's no big deal, Mom. Rory had off from school on Friday, so Christopher invited her to spend the weekend with him. . .and Sherry. . .in Boston." There was silence on the other end of the phone. "Mom? You doing your Silent Bob impression again?"  
  
"You and Rory were in Boston for the whole weekend?" Emily asked quietly.  
  
"Uh, no, just Rory was," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Rory went alone to Boston?" Emily asked. "My God, what if something happened to her?"  
  
"She was with Chris and Sherry, Mom, not the Boston strangler," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes. "He drove here and picked her up on Thursday night, and then he drove her back home yesterday. She was with him the whole trip. She had a great time, she wants to go back this summer."  
  
Emily was quiet for a moment before she said, "Yes, well. . .I suppose it's good for her to spend time with Christopher."  
  
"I agree," Lorelai said.  
  
"So then why couldn't you come to dinner?" Emily asked accusingly.  
  
"Because me and Luke went away, too," Lorelai replied.  
  
"You and Luke went away?" Emily asked, surprised. "Together?"  
  
"No, Mom, separately," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes. "Yes, together. We went away to Groton for the weekend."  
  
"Groton? What's there to do in Groton?" Emily asked.  
  
"Plenty of things, Mom," Lorelai replied. "We just needed to get away."  
  
"Don't you think it was a little soon in your relationship to go away together?" Emily asked pointedly.  
  
"No, Mother," Lorelai replied, her lips pursed. "I don't."  
  
"You know, I really think you two might be - " Emily started.  
  
Lorelai interrupted her with an exasperated sigh. "Listen, Mom, I have to go. There's an emergency that needs my attention right away. We'll see you this Friday," Lorelai said quickly.  
  
"Yes, let's just hope you don't skip town this week too," Emily said.  
  
"Bye Mom." Lorelai hung up the phone and groaned into the air. She stared down at the desk for a few seconds, then her eyes drifted over to the red rose. She smiled, then picked up the phone and dialed a number.  
  
She tapped her fingers on the desk as the phone rang several times. Finally, a gruff voice answered, "Luke's."  
  
Lorelai smiled to herself. "Hey," she said. "Is this a bad time?"  
  
Upon hearing it was Lorelai, Luke's voice softened immediately. "Hey. No, it's fine. What's up?" He poured some coffee for a customer at the counter before returning the pot to the coffee maker and leaning against the kitchen doorframe.  
  
"Nothing, I just called to thank you for the rose," Lorelai said. She giggled and added, "Well, uh, I guess to thank Chester."  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "You're welcome. How's work?"  
  
Lorelai twirled her finger in her hair and leaned forward against the desk. "Well, did you ever have one of those days where it sucks so much that you constantly have the urge to down a whole bottle of aspirin in order to die quickly and peacefully?"  
  
"Why, what happened?" Luke replied, concerned.  
  
"Nothing. This isn't one of those days," Lorelai said. "I was just wondering if you'd ever had one."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Geez, don't do that."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Sorry. My day's been fine, how's yours?"  
  
"Good, it's been good," Luke said. He lowered his voice. "Though right now Kirk just walked in with a large pair of hedge clippers and it's sort of disturbing."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "What does he need hedge clippers for?"  
  
"Uh, let's see - what could he possibly need hedge clippers for?" Luke asked, pretending to be confused. "I just don't know. They should really consider renaming them so that people will know what to do with them."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "I know what hedge clippers are for, but why does he need them? He just delivers the flowers. Ooh, maybe the flower he just delivered here was the last delivery he needed to make before he got promoted to actual lawncare duties."  
  
"Or maybe he just uses them as a keychain," Luke suggested.  
  
"Hm, maybe," Lorelai said. "Or maybe he's carrying them for protection."  
  
"Maybe," Luke said. He paused for a moment. "Why are we talking about Kirk?"  
  
Lorelai laughed. "I have no idea. I'm sure there's some other topic we can talk about." She thought for a second. "Oh, I talked to my mom a few minutes ago and told her why we weren't at dinner on Friday."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Luke asked. "Was she mad that you missed?"  
  
"Surprisingly, no, not really," Lorelai said. "And I thought she'd freak out that Rory was with Sherry like she did last time, but she didn't. I guess she's used to the idea of her now." Lorelai paused a moment before she smiled. "Oh, I get it."  
  
"Get what?" Luke asked, confused.  
  
"I get why she's accepting Sherry now," Lorelai said, nodding to herself. "She hated Sherry before because she wanted me and Chris to get together, but now that she sees me with someone else. . ."  
  
"Ah," Luke said. "She's giving up on the idea of you and him now that she sees that you're happy."  
  
"Exactly. Wow, I'm impressed, Mom," Lorelai muttered to herself.  
  
"That's good," Luke said.  
  
"Yes, it is," Lorelai agreed.  
  
Luke glanced around and saw a customer waving for his attention. "Okay, I gotta go. Are you gonna stop by later?"  
  
"Hmm, I don't know," Lorelai said, pretending to think it over. "Do you want me to?"  
  
"No, actually, I'd rather you didn't," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "What?" she asked with a laugh.  
  
Luke laughed. "That's the answer you get for asking a stupid question."  
  
"Hmph," Lorelai said, pretending to be upset. "Fine, maybe I won't stop by later."  
  
"Oh, I think you will," Luke said knowingly.  
  
"Maybe I won't," Lorelai replied.  
  
"I think you will," Luke repeated. He quickly added, "And before you try to keep this pattern going all day long by saying 'maybe I won't' again, I'm interrupting to say that I love you."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay, maybe I will."  
  
Luke smiled and nodded. "Thought so. Bye," he said.  
  
"Bye," Lorelai replied. Smiling to herself, she hung up the phone. She glanced to her right and saw Michel staring at her. She giggled and pointed to the phone. "He loves me."  
  
Michel rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, maybe he should get his head examined."  
  
Lorelai frowned at him before she turned around and walked away from the desk.  
  
* * *  
  
That night after work, Lorelai walked toward the diner. As she passed Doose's Market, she looked through the window and saw Luke inside standing at the register. She smiled to herself and walked inside. With his back to her, he didn't see her walk up to him. She leaned close to his ear and said, "Whatcha buying?"  
  
Startled, Luke jumped. "Oh geez!" he exclaimed. "Don't do that!"  
  
Lorelai laughed. "God, you're too jumpy. You're gonna have a heart attack one of these days." She ran her hand up and down his back as the cashier handed him his change. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a diner to run? Shouldn't you be running it? Aren't you supposed to be cooking people dinner? Am I annoying you with questions yet?" She smiled at him.  
  
"Yes, you are, and I had to get a few things before the dinner rush," Luke said. He grabbed the bag and they walked out of the store and headed toward the diner. "Rory's in there already. She's doing homework or something."  
  
"Oh, good," Lorelai said. "That means she got my message." She glanced toward the dance studio and saw Patty walking towards them.  
  
Luke saw her, too. He turned to Lorelai and asked, "Have you talked to her since we got back?"  
  
"Nope," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Oh geez," Luke mumbled. "That means this'll be the third degree."  
  
"Hey you two!" Patty called, waving at them as she rushed over.  
  
Lorelai smiled and called, "Hey Patty."  
  
As Patty reached them, Luke gave an uncomfortable smile. "Hi." The three of them continued toward the diner.  
  
Patty linked her arm through Lorelai's and said, "So, tell me, how was your trip?"  
  
Luke groaned just loud enough for Lorelai to hear.  
  
Lorelai smiled and laced her fingers through Luke's. "It was great. Very relaxing. Very good food. Very nice hotel. Uh, anything you wanna add?" she asked, turning to Luke.  
  
Luke shrugged. "Uh, nice weather."  
  
"Yeah, it was a beautiful weekend," Lorelai agreed. "Very sunny."  
  
Patty narrowed her eyes at them. "You mean, you actually left the hotel room?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh look, here we are." They had reached the diner, and Luke pulled the door open for them. He followed them inside, then leaned close to Lorelai and said quietly, "No details."  
  
Lorelai nodded and waved him off. "I know, I know. Go be a good little diner owner and cook things for the nice hungry people."  
  
Luke gave a quick glance between Lorelai and Patty before he walked behind the counter. He talked to Caesar for a moment before they both disappeared into the kitchen.  
  
Patty looked at Lorelai. "So, you didn't stay inside the whole time? Is everything okay with you two?" she asked, concerned.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Yes, everything's fine. We had a great time."  
  
Patty gave her a doubtful look. "You know, sweetie, when a couple goes away together to a hotel, they usually just like to stay in and - "  
  
"Oh, would you look at the time," Lorelai interrupted, holding up her watch. "Rory's probably starving and waiting for me so she can order." She pointed to Rory's table. "Oh, she looks pretty ill. I better go make sure she's okay. See you later, Patty." She quickly walked toward Rory and sat down at the table with a sigh. "Hey."  
  
"Hey Mom," Rory said, smiling. Rory gestured toward the counter, where Patty had taken a seat next to Taylor. "What did Miss Patty want?"  
  
"The usual," Lorelai replied. She removed her blazer and draped it over her chair.  
  
"Details," Rory said knowingly.  
  
"You got it," Lorelai said. She tapped a finger on Rory's notebook. "Whatcha working on?"  
  
Rory looked down at it. "Oh, a story for the paper. Well, not the actual story. I'm just making some notes about what I need to look up when I get home."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Got it."  
  
"How was your day?" Rory asked, chewing on the tip of her pen.  
  
"Good, it was good," Lorelai said, nodding. "I went out with Sookie for lunch and we talked about the bridesmaid dresses."  
  
Rory smiled. "Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yup," Lorelai replied. "We're going out shopping tomorrow night and we're gonna look to see if there's anything good."  
  
"And if there's nothing good?" Rory asked.  
  
"Then someone's gonna be doing a lot of sewing," Lorelai said, pointing to herself.  
  
"Ah, good luck with that," Rory said. She pointed to Lorelai's shoulder. "You have a piece of fuzz."  
  
"Oh, thanks." Lorelai looked down and brushed it off as Jess walked into the diner. He walked past their table as he headed toward the stairway. Lorelai looked up as he passed. "Oh, Jess, good, come here a sec."  
  
Jess stopped in mid-step and turned around to face them. He looked at Lorelai expectantly. "Yeah?"  
  
"Uh, how was your weekend?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Jess shrugged. "Not as eventful as a weekend at Bernie's, but it was okay."  
  
"Good, good," Lorelai said. "So, what did you do?"  
  
He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "Not much. Hung out. Watched tv. Read. Worked. Ate. Slept."  
  
Lorelai nodded along. "So you were pretty busy then, huh?"  
  
Jess nodded. "Pretty much."  
  
"Mmkay, well, then. . ." Lorelai's voice trailed off. She smiled and shrugged toward him. "Glad things went well."  
  
Jess raised his eyebrows and gave a small nod. He started to walk away. When he reached the counter, he stopped and turned around. He gestured to the two of them. "Uh, how were your trips?"  
  
Slightly surprised, Lorelai smiled and said, "Uh, good. It was good." She paused. "Um, thanks for asking," she added.  
  
Rory nodded. "Yup, mine was good, too."  
  
Jess nodded and turned around, continuing to the staircase. When he disappeared from their view, Lorelai and Rory looked at each other and smiled. "Huh," Lorelai said. "That was. . .unexpected."  
  
"What was?" a voice asked. Lorelai looked up, startled. Luke stood over her with a coffeepot and two mugs. "What was unexpected?" he repeated. He set the mugs down and poured the coffee.  
  
"Oh, nothing, just that. . .Jess asked us how our trips were," Lorelai explained.  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "Jess was being nice - that's what was unexpected?"  
  
Lorelai took a sip of coffee before she answered. "Well, no, not that he was being nice - but, I mean, he was like halfway across the room, then he turned around and asked us how our trips were. I didn't expect that. Did you expect that?" Lorelai asked Rory.  
  
"I didn't expect that," Rory replied, shaking her head.  
  
Lorelai looked up at Luke. "Nope, we didn't expect that, hence it was unexpected." She smiled.  
  
An amused look fell on Luke's face. He shook his head slightly and smiled at them. He pulled his order pad out of his waistband. "Burgers?"  
  
Lorelai looked at Rory, who nodded. "Yes, two," Lorelai replied, glancing up at Luke.  
  
"Okay," Luke replied, scribbling it on his pad. He smiled at them and turned to walk away, but Lorelai reached out and grabbed his hand. He turned around and asked, "What? Change your mind?"  
  
"What's wrong?" Lorelai asked, concerned. Rory gave her a confused look.  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean?"  
  
"You didn't roll your eyes," Lorelai said.  
  
"What?" Luke asked with a confused laugh.  
  
Lorelai exhaled loudly and explained, "Everyday we come in here and order burgers, then you roll your eyes and write it down - or sometimes you roll your eyes and don't write it down, you just remember it. Either way, you always roll your eyes, and ten second ago when we ordered burgers, you didn't roll your eyes. Instead, you casually wrote the order down on the pad and smiled. Why didn't you roll your eyes?" Lorelai asked worriedly, clasping her hands around one of his. "What's wrong?"  
  
Luke and Rory glanced at each other and shrugged. Luke looked back to Lorelai and let out a small laugh. "Nothing's wrong, everything's fine."  
  
Lorelai wagged her finger at him. "Nuh uh, something's up. You just don't all of a sudden stop doing your eye roll. There has to be some reason behind the sudden eye roll stoppage."  
  
Rory sighed. "Mom, maybe his eyes are tired of doing the eye roll. I mean, it's been like ten years of eye rolls - maybe he has finally given in to the fact that the eye rolls have not had a deterrent effect on our red meat consumption."  
  
Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that sounds good. Let's go with that."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "You are so hiding something from me and when I find out what it is, you're. . . you're. . ." She struggled to think of something threatening to say.  
  
Luke smiled. "Yes?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest. "Go on."  
  
She wrinkled her nose. "You're gonna be. . .I'm gonna be . . ." She paused and turned to Rory. "Rory, help me out here."  
  
Rory laughed and held her hands up in front of her chest innocently. "Hey, leave me out of this. Bicker amongst yourselves."  
  
Lorelai frowned at her before she turned back to Luke. "What are you hiding?"  
  
Luke laughed. "I'm not hiding anything. You want me to take your order again and add the eyeroll? Will that make you feel better?"  
  
Lorelai eyed him suspiciously before she finally muttered, "No." She paused for a moment, then said, "Yes."  
  
Luke smirked. "So, uh, what do you guys want today - burgers?"  
  
"Yes please," Rory replied quickly.  
  
Luke lowered his face down to Lorelai and gave her an exaggerated eye roll, then stood back up straight. Lorelai laughed and pushed him away playfully. "Okay, okay, get outta here."  
  
Luke smiled and said, "Burgers'll be right out." He turned around and walked back to the counter.  
  
Lorelai watched him, smiling to herself. She and Rory talked for a few minutes while they waited for their food. Finally, Luke brought over their plates and set them on the table.  
  
"Thanks, Luke," Rory said.  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Lorelai said. She looked down at her burger and noticed that the sides were dripping with cheese. "Wow, how many pieces of cheese are on this thing?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know, three or four." He walked back to the counter.  
  
Lorelai picked up some fries and ate them as Rory took a bite of her burger. "Mmm," Rory murmured as she started chewing.  
  
Lorelai picked up her burger and took a bite. She chewed it for several seconds before her eyes widened. Her face contorted into a disgusted look and she stopped chewing. She dropped the burger down onto the plate, then picked up her napkin and spit out her mouthful of food.  
  
Rory paused in mid-chewing. She made a face and said, "Ew, Mom, what is it?"  
  
"Ugh! Oh my God!" Lorelai exclaimed. She grabbed Rory's napkin and vigorously wiped off her tongue, then took a long sip of coffee to get the taste out of her mouth. "That's the most disgusting thing I've ever had in my life!"  
  
Lorelai looked over at the counter and saw Luke and Caesar smiling in her direction. "Luke!" she exclaimed. "What the heck was that?" As other customers turned to look at her, she pushed her plate across the table. "Ugh, I can't look at it."  
  
Luke said something to Caesar before he walked over to the table carrying a plate with another burger on it. He smiled and set it down in front of her, "Here. Sorry, I had to do it," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai pursed her lips and glared at him. "Had to do what?" she asked slowly.  
  
"Give you a turkey burger," he said, sitting down at their table.  
  
Lorelai gasped and smacked his shoulder. "Oh my God! Gross! Why'd you do that?"  
  
Rory laughed. "You gave her a turkey burger and didn't expect her to be able to tell the difference?"  
  
Luke smiled. "No, that was the point."  
  
"Hi, there's no point to giving someone the grossest food known to man," Lorelai said, frowning at him. "Explain, now."  
  
"When I came in with you, I walked to the counter and Caesar asked me if he should start cooking some burgers because he knows that's what you guys usually get," Luke said.  
  
"Wise man," Lorelai said, nodding at Rory. She turned back to Luke. "Go on."  
  
"So we went into the kitchen, and he said he was surprised that I don't try to slip you turkey burgers instead to get you to eat healthier," Luke continued.  
  
"That's because I would be forced to cause you severe pain," Lorelai said through clenched teeth.  
  
Luke smiled. "And I told him that's because you would cause me severe pain." Lorelai and Rory both smiled. "And he said that you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference if I put enough cheese on it, and I told him that you definitely would, and he didn't believe me, so I had to prove him wrong," Luke finished. "So, you proved him wrong. Congratulations."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "I can't believe you did that to me," she said, shaking her head.  
  
"It was actually pretty amusing, though," Rory said, smiling.  
  
Lorelai made a face at her. "That's easy for you to say, you didn't have to eat that crap," Lorelai said, gesturing to the turkey burger.  
  
Luke pushed the new plate toward her. "Here, this is a real cholesterol- filled, heart-disease-causing burger, I promise."  
  
Lorelai eyed it curiously, then looked up at him. "You do realize that I will never be able to confidently bite into a burger for the rest of my life?"  
  
Luke stood up and smiled. "Good, maybe you'll end up giving up red meat."  
  
"Not a chance," she said, taking a bite of the new burger. She hesitated before she started chewing it, but let out a satisfied moan when she realized it was a real burger. When she finished chewing, she looked up at him and said, "You know, if we chalk this little incident up along with the Cosmo trick, you're not coming across as the nicest boyfriend, Luke."  
  
"Cosmo trick?" Rory asked curiously. "What happened?"  
  
Luke's eyes widened and he blushed slightly. "Nothing," he said quickly. "It was nothing." He turned to Lorelai. "Hey, I sent you a rose. That was nice."  
  
A smile slowly formed on her lips. "Yeah, that was nice," Lorelai admitted.  
  
He smiled. "No more mystery food, I promise. I just had to prove him wrong, but I'll ignore him next time."  
  
"Good," she replied. "Now go in the kitchen and do something to get back at him. You know, give him a pay cut or fire him or something."  
  
Luke laughed. "Okay." He picked up the turkey burger plate and walked back toward the counter.  
  
Lorelai took another bite of her burger. "Mmm," she moaned. "This is so good." Rory nodded in agreement. Lorelai set her burger on her plate and took a sip of coffee. "You know, when they move in with us, we're gonna have to start having real food in our house."  
  
"Real food?" Rory asked.  
  
"Mmhmm," Lorelai said, nodding slowly. She swallowed hard. "Like. . . healthy food."  
  
Rory gasped. "Oh my God!"  
  
Lorelai laughed. "I know, I know. We're gonna have to try to get used to it though."  
  
Rory sighed. "It'll take some time."  
  
"Definitely. We should buy something healthy, like a cucumber or something, and just keep it in the fridge for awhile to get used to the idea of having non-junk food in the house," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hm, good idea," Rory said. She wrinkled her nose. "Are we gonna have to . . . eat the healthy food?"  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "God, no! We just have to have it for Luke."  
  
Rory breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, good."  
  
* * *  
  
The next evening at the second bridal shop of the night, Lorelai flipped aimlessly through a bridal magazine as Sookie tried on dress number five. Lorelai tossed the magazine back on the pile and walked over to the dressing room door. "Are you ready for me to help zipper you up, Sookie?" Lorelai called.  
  
"Almost," Sookie's voice called back. "I'm just about done." A few seconds later, the door pulled open slightly and Lorelai slipped into the dressing room.  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened when she saw Sookie in the gown. She smiled and said, "Oh my God."  
  
Sookie giggled and looked at herself in the mirror. "It looks okay?"  
  
"It looks fabulous, Sookie," Lorelai gushed. "Here, come here, turn around."  
  
Sookie turned around and Lorelai zipped up the back up the dress. Sookie turned around and took a deep breath. "It feels good."  
  
"Honey, it looks great," Lorelai said, nodding enthusiastically.  
  
"It's too long," Sookie said, looking down at her feet.  
  
Lorelai waved her off. "They can fix that."  
  
"It's not too . . .gaudy or lacy or beady or frilly?" Sookie asked nervously.  
  
"Um, no, no, no, and no," Lorelai said. She gestured for Sookie to spin around, and Sookie obliged. Lorelai looked her up and down. "Sookie, it looks amazing on you. I mean it."  
  
Sookie stared into the mirror. She turned around and looked at it from different angles. "Do you think Jackson will like it?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I think he'll love it. It looks incredible."  
  
"You're not just saying that because you're ready to go, are you?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Not at all! I wouldn't tell you it looked incredible if it didn't look incredible. You know how rudely blunt I am about everything."  
  
Sookie giggled. "True." She stared into the mirror for another minute before she started nodding approvingly. "Okay, I think . . . this is it. This is the one."  
  
Lorelai smiled and clapped her hands together excitedly. "Ah, this is so exciting!"  
  
Sookie giggled. "I know!" She threw her arms around Lorelai and hugged her tightly. After several seconds, Sookie sniffled loudly.  
  
Lorelai pulled back and rubbed Sookie's arms. "Aw, don't cry," she said soothingly.  
  
Sookie wiped her tears. "I can't help it. You know how emotional I get when I watch A Wedding Story."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I know."  
  
"And this will be even worse because it'll be like I'm watching my own wedding story," Sookie said, sniffling. "I need to have a box of tissues with me at all times from now until the wedding."  
  
Lorelai smiled and hugged her. "Come on. Get changed and we'll go buy this dress."  
  
Sookie took a deep breath. "Okay. We don't take it now, right?"  
  
"No, they'll measure you and they'll take it and fix it up so you're not drowning in it," Lorelai said.  
  
"Okay, good," Sookie replied. "I'll be right out."  
  
Lorelai nodded and stepped out of the dressing room. She sat back down in the chair for a few minutes, then walked over to a rack of dresses and looked through them aimlessly.  
  
The dressing room door opened and Sookie walked over to her. "Hey, when this dress is ready, can I store it at your house until the wedding?"  
  
"Absolutely," Lorelai said as they walked toward the front desk. "Ooh, when it comes in, we'll tell Luke it's mine and see how freaked out he gets."  
  
Sookie giggled. "Good plan."  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai dropped Sookie off at her house, then stopped at the diner before going home. She walked through the door and noticed there were only two other customers. Luke stood at the counter looking bored as he flipped through his supply ledger. He glanced up to see who had entered, and was surprised to see that it was Lorelai. He smiled and checked his watch. "Hey, what are you doing here so late?"  
  
She walked behind the counter and kissed him. "Came to see you. Haven't seen you since this morning."  
  
He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "How was shopping?"  
  
She rested her head on his chest and said, "Good. Sookie got a dress."  
  
"That's good," Luke said. "Did you get bridesmaid dresses?"  
  
"Nope, we got fabric to make 'em though," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Couldn't find any that you liked?" Luke asked.  
  
"Nope," Lorelai replied. She pulled back and looked up at him. "We're gonna design them together and I'm gonna sew them."  
  
"How very Betsy Ross of you," Luke commented.  
  
"Yes, it is," Lorelai replied. Her eyes lit up. "Ooh, speaking of which, do you have brownies?"  
  
Luke laughed. "No, but how does Betsy Ross make you think of brownies?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and explained, "Because Betsy Ross sounds like Betty Crocker."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Of course." He glanced at the counter. "No, no brownies, but I do have double-chocolate cookies."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Close enough."  
  
"Have a seat," Luke said. Lorelai walked around the counter and sat on a stool. Luke brought her a cookie on a plate. Lorelai broke a piece off and put it in her mouth as Luke folded his arms across his chest and watched her eat.  
  
She glanced up at him and smiled. "Am I entertaining?"  
  
He smiled and nodded. "Very." He glanced past her and said, "Be right back." He grabbed his order pad from the counter and walked away.  
  
As the two customers left, Luke returned to the counter with some money and stuck it in the register. He stood in front of Lorelai and said, "So, tomorrow night - do you have plans?"  
  
"Nope," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "Wanna do something?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I was thinking we could go out to dinner or something. I'll get someone to close up."  
  
Lorelai shoved the last piece of cookie into her mouth and nodded. "Sounds good to me," she said with her mouth full.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "You do realize how disgusting that is, don't you?"  
  
Lorelai finished chewing and smiled at him. "Yes, I do."  
  
"Good," he replied. "Just so you know."  
  
She stood up and said, "Thanks for the cookie."  
  
"You're welcome." He glanced at his watch. "I'm about to close up, I'll walk you home."  
  
She waved him off. "It's okay, I have the Jeep."  
  
"Oh," Luke replied. He walked around the counter and took her hand, then walked her out to the car. As she leaned against the side of it, she pulled him towards her and pressed her lips against his. As the intensity of the kiss increased, he pulled back from her and glanced around uncomfortably.  
  
Lorelai smiled and rolled her eyes. "Still not one for making out in public, huh?"  
  
He shook his head. "Nope."  
  
"Not even at ten o'clock at night when no one's around?" Lorelai pouted.  
  
He shook his head again, and Lorelai opened the door and climbed into the car. Luke pushed the door closed and leaned through the open window. He kissed her and said, "See you tomorrow."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Bye." As Luke stepped back from the car, she started the engine. She waved to him as she pulled away, and Luke smiled as he watched her drive down the street.  
  
* * * 


	5. Parts 24 to 28

"It's Right There - parts 24 - 28"  
  
* * *  
  
PART 24  
  
* * *  
  
After dinner the next night, Luke and Lorelai walked hand in hand through the center of town. They walked up into the gazebo, and as Luke sat down on the bench, Lorelai walked over to the railing and looked out at the town.  
  
"It's a beautiful night," Lorelai commented.  
  
"Yup," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai inhaled deeply. "Smells like spring."  
  
"Well, probably because it is spring," Luke pointed out.  
  
"Yes, but it doesn't always smell like the season that it is," Lorelai explained. "But right now, it definitely smells like spring." She inhaled deeply again and smiled.  
  
Luke stood up and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her neck just below her ear. Lorelai placed her hands on top of his and closed her eyes as she leaned back against him.  
  
A few seconds later, Lorelai turned around and hugged him tightly. She rested her chin on his shoulder as his hands moved gently up and down her back. Her eyes wandered around the town, glancing at the people walking by. Suddenly she lifted her head up. "Luke," she said with a sly smile. "Turn around and stare straight ahead."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her, then slowly turned around.  
  
"Okay, what do you see?" Lorelai asked, tapping him excitedly on the shoulder.  
  
Luke shrugged. "I see people in line for the movies," he said, gesturing toward the theater.  
  
"Yes, anyone you recognize?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke squinted at the line of people in front of the theater. "Uh, looks like Rory and Lane," he said. He turned around and looked at Lorelai. "That who you mean?"  
  
Lorelai nodded and smiled. "You know what that means," she said in a singsong voice.  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "What does it mean?"  
  
Lorelai put her hands on his collar and pulled his lips to hers. She pulled back and kissed across his cheek to his earlobe, which she nibbled on gently before she whispered, "It means that there's a big old empty house just begging for someone to use it."  
  
A smile slowly formed on Luke's lips. "Ah, I get it now."  
  
"You catch on quick." Lorelai smiled and grabbed his hand. "Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
In Lorelai's bed later that night, Luke lay on his back, thinking to himself with his eyes closed. As Lorelai returned from the bathroom, she grabbed Luke's t-shirt from the floor and pulled it on, then climbed back into bed. She brushed her hair out of her face, then rested her head against his arm, using his bicep as a pillow. She draped her arm across his stomach and snuggled up close to him.  
  
He opened his eyes and kissed the top of her head, then leaned back against the pillow. "You know what I was just thinking?"  
  
"Wait, let me guess." Lorelai stared up at the ceiling for a moment, deep in thought. Finally she turned to him and said, "Were you thinking about how the idea to make Oreos with that half peanut butter/half chocolate cream filling is just incredibly wrong and should be considered a violation of the whole Oreo cookie standard of ethics?"  
  
Luke stared at her momentarily before he said, "Uh, no."  
  
"Oh. Well, it is," Lorelai said. "I mean, I like peanut butter and I like chocolate cream, but on an Oreo? No way." She shook her head. "That's not what makes an Oreo an Oreo. It's supposed to be two chocolate cookies with white cream filling - not chocolate filling or peanut butter filling, white cream filling. Now, I know they try to get all cutesy and stuff around the holidays by dyeing the cream filling to make it festive colors, but that's okay. I admit, I protested it at first, but after realizing that it tastes pretty much the same, I was okay with it. But when they go out and change the taste of the filling completely, that's when I have to put my foot down. That's where I draw the line. That's where I say, that is no longer a real Oreo." She sighed loudly.  
  
Luke stared at her with wide eyes and an amused smile on his face. He let out a small laugh and shook his head slightly. "As much as I disapprove of your obsession with junk food, you're really adorable when you get all worked up over it."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him, then rested her head back against his arm. "So what were you thinking about?" She placed her hand on his chest.  
  
He placed his hand on top of hers. "Well. . . I was just thinking about how. . ," Luke started. He paused a moment before he sighed. "Forget it, it's not important."  
  
Lorelai lifted her head up and looked at him curiously. "Luke, what is it? I'm sure it's important. And even if it's not, who cares? Did you not just hear my cookie rant?"  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "True."  
  
Lorelai smiled and patted his chest. "So, come on, what is it?"  
  
Luke shrugged slightly. "It's nothing, really." He stared up at the ceiling as he said, "I was kind of just thinking about us and. . .about how things were before we got together and. . ." He brought his gaze down to her and finished, ". . .and about how much better my life is now."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened as a chill ran through her body. She tilted her head and smiled at him, then ran her fingers gently over his face before she leaned in and kissed him. She smiled through the kiss, then pulled back and said, "Same here. I love you."  
  
Luke smiled. "Love you, too."  
  
Lorelai rested her head against his chest. They were quiet for a few seconds before Lorelai said, "Wow, my guess was really far off."  
  
Luke laughed. "Yeah, it was. Next time I'll try to think about cookies so you'll be right."  
  
Lorelai lifted her head up and smiled at him. "Aw, thank you."  
  
He smiled as he stroked her hair. "You're welcome." Luke glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "The movie's probably almost over. Rory's gonna be home soon."  
  
Lorelai glanced behind her and checked the clock. "Yeah, we should go downstairs."  
  
Luke reached down and entwined his fingers through hers. "Yup."  
  
"You wanna stay and watch tv or something?" Lorelai asked. "It's not really that late yet."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, I'll stay for a little while."  
  
A few minutes later, they got dressed and walked downstairs. Lorelai gestured to the couch and said, "Sit down. You want a beer?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," Luke replied. He wandered over to the couch and sat down.  
  
Lorelai walked into the kitchen and grabbed two beers from the fridge. She opened them, then pulled open a cupboard and stared into it for a moment, looking for something to snack on. From the living room, she heard Luke mutter loudly, "Dammit, what's with this stupid thing?"  
  
Lorelai grabbed a bag of cookies and the beers, then walked into the living room. She saw Luke pointing the remote control at the television, pushing a button repeatedly. She smiled and said, "What's the problem there, Ozzy?"  
  
"The remote's not working," he said with an annoyed sigh. "The television won't turn on."  
  
Lorelai set the beers on the coffee table, dropped the cookies on the couch, and took the remote from him. She slapped it on her thigh, then pointed it at the television and pushed the power button. The television turned on, and she handed the remote back to Luke. "Sometimes it just needs a slight beating," she explained. "You know, like kids."  
  
Luke smiled. "Interesting." He patted the seat next to him and she sat down. Luke put one hand on her thigh and held the remote in the other. He flipped quickly through the channels, finally stopping on a baseball game.  
  
Lorelai immediately groaned. "Noooo." She grabbed for the remote.  
  
"Wait, let me just find out the score," Luke said, holding the remote out of reach.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You can find out the score in the paper tomorrow, you don't need to know it now. Why don't you just put - ooh, who is that?" she asked, pointing to the batter.  
  
Luke smiled. "Uh, Mike Piazza," he said.  
  
"Mmm, he's cute," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows. "Keep this on. I'm suddenly enjoying those tight uniforms. Wow, look at that guy's. . .hmm."  
  
"Okay, okay." Luke playfully covered her eyes with his hand. Lorelai giggled and pushed it away. She reached up and gently stroked the side of his face with her finger. They stared at each other for a moment, then Luke turned off the television and tossed the remote onto the couch next to him. Lorelai crawled onto his lap so she was facing him. She put her hands on his neck and stroked his sideburns with her thumbs as she leaned forward and kissed him deeply.  
  
He placed his hands on her waist as he took her lower lip into his mouth and sucked on it gently. Several seconds later, Luke pulled back and they smiled at each other, then he lowered his mouth to her neck and placed several kisses on her soft skin. Lorelai closed her eyes and moaned softly as he started sucking lightly on her neck.  
  
When he pulled back from her, he stared at her body for several seconds. He ran his hands over her shoulders and down her arms, then ran a finger along the low-cut neckline of her tank top. "Freckles," he said.  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows and gave a small smile. "What?"  
  
He nodded toward her chest. "You have a lot of freckles on your chest."  
  
Lorelai glanced down at them, then gave him a curious look. "Uh, yes, I do," she agreed.  
  
Luke shrugged and ran his fingers over them. "I just think they're cute."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Oh yeah? When I was younger, I begged my mom to let me get them removed because I thought they made me look really ugly. As you can tell, she obviously didn't go for it, so then I tried to rub them off with lemons like Jan did, but that didn't work either."  
  
Luke smiled. "I'm glad it didn't work. I like them." He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her hungrily as Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck.  
  
A few seconds later, Lorelai heard a cough. She pulled back from Luke and glanced toward the front entryway, where Rory stood staring at them with a small smirk. Panting slightly, Lorelai smiled and said, "Hey hon." She slid off of Luke's lap and onto the cushion next to him.  
  
Rory smiled. "Hey Mom. Hey Luke."  
  
Luke gave a slightly embarrassed smile. "Hey Rory. Uh, how was your night?"  
  
"Good. Lane and I went to the movies," Rory said. "How was yours?"  
  
"Great," Luke replied, nodding. "We, uh, just went out to dinner."  
  
Rory nodded and folded her arms across her chest. "Mmhmm. And what are you two crazy kids up to now?" she asked with a sly smile.  
  
Lorelai let out a high-pitched giggle and spoke in a high voice. "Well, Mom, Luke was having trouble breathing, and so. . .um, I had to give him. . . uh, CPR and stuff, but he's doing much better now."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "We were just gonna watch some tv if you wanna watch with us," he told Rory.  
  
Rory smiled. "Nah, it's okay. I think I'm gonna read a little and get to bed early."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Aw, are you sure? It'll be fun. We can pick something really sappy like Steel Magnolias and see how freaked out Luke gets when we both start bawling."  
  
Rory smiled. "Maybe next time."  
  
"Can't wait for that," Luke mumbled.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "'Night hon."  
  
"'Night," Rory said. "'Night Luke."  
  
"Goodnight," Luke said. "Don't forget, Danish Day tomorrow."  
  
Rory smiled. "I won't, Mom has it written on all the calendars." Rory turned around and walked toward her bedroom.  
  
Luke smirked and turned to Lorelai, who gave him a sly shrug. "What? It's like a holiday in this house," she said.  
  
He smiled and kissed her, then turned the television back on. Seeing that the baseball game was still on, Lorelai groaned. "Ugh, how long are these stupid games?" She propped her feet up on the coffee table.  
  
"Usually like three hours," Luke said.  
  
"Geez. How much longer is this one gonna be on?" she asked.  
  
Luke checked the scoreboard in the corner of the screen. "Let's see, it's in the third inning, so we got about two more hours."  
  
Lorelai let out a small laugh. "Oh my God. Say goodbye to the hot guys, this is so not what we're watching," she said, grabbing the remote from him. She started flipping through the channels. "No, no, no, no, no, - ooh! Saturday Night Fever." She dropped the remote on her lap.  
  
Luke put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. "Are you gonna come to the softball game on Saturday?"  
  
Lorelai turned to him and shrugged. "I don't know. When is it?"  
  
"Nine," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "In the morning?" She made a face. "Oh man, I don't know."  
  
"Yeah, I know it's early. You don't have to go if you don't want to," Luke said with a shrug. "It's no big deal."  
  
Lorelai stared at him for a second, then smiled and said, "No, I'll go."  
  
Luke turned to her and smiled. "Yeah? You don't have to, you know."  
  
"I know. I want to," she insisted. "Ooh, will you bring me coffee and a muffin for breakfast?"  
  
Luke's initial impulse was to tease her by saying no, but the hopeful pout on her face immediately made him laugh. He nodded and kissed her, and they both turned to face the television.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner and sat at the counter. Jess was at a table pouring coffee, and soon he walked over to them and poured them each a cup. "Thanks," Rory said.  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Lorelai said.  
  
Jess nodded toward them and placed the pot back on the coffee maker.  
  
Lorelai took a sip of her coffee, then smiled at Rory and asked, "How many more to go?"  
  
Rory smiled and said, "Mom, I already told you this morning, fifty days."  
  
Jess turned around and said, "Fifty days until what?"  
  
"Fifty days until my last day of school, including weekends," Rory explained.  
  
"Geez, have you been counting down since the first day?" Jess asked. "I thought you liked school."  
  
"I do like school, that's not what we're counting down to," Rory said.  
  
"Yeah, we're counting down to the day when you guys move in," Lorelai said.  
  
Jess narrowed his eyes at her and held up a hand in front of him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. The day when what?"  
  
"The day when you guys. . ." Lorelai's voice trailed off as she realized that Luke hadn't told Jess yet. "Um. . . nothing." She took a sip of coffee.  
  
"We're moving in with you guys?" Jess asked.  
  
Before she could answer, Luke walked out from the kitchen and smiled at Lorelai and Rory. "Hey."  
  
Lorelai bit her bottom lip nervously. "Uh, Luke?" She nodded toward Jess.  
  
Luke looked at the three of them curiously. "What's going on?"  
  
"We're moving in with them?" Jess asked him.  
  
Luke's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, yeah, we're. . .uh, gonna be moving into Lorelai's house. I was gonna tell you soon."  
  
"Yeah, that would've been nice," Jess said, rolling his eyes. "But then again, people seem to enjoy just packing me up and sending me places without asking me if I actually wanna go."  
  
"I'm not packing you up and sending you someplace, I'm packing the both of us and the both of us are moving," Luke said. "There's a difference."  
  
"It's gonna be cool," Rory said. "You'll have your own room and everything."  
  
"Yeah, really, it'll be good," Lorelai added. "Better than that cramped apartment you guys are sharing."  
  
"I like that cramped apartment," Jess muttered. He took a few deep breaths and stared into space for a moment with his lips pursed. Finally he turned to Luke and said, "Why can't you just go? Why do I have to go too?"  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at him. "What?"  
  
"What?" Rory asked.  
  
"Yeah, what?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah. You move into their house with them and I'll keep the apartment for myself," Jess said.  
  
Luke let out a laugh. "You've got to be kidding me. You are not responsible enough to have your own apartment. Out of the question."  
  
"Hey, I spent the whole weekend living by myself and I was just fine," Jess pointed out.  
  
Lorelai and Rory both leaned forward on the counter and watched the discussion intently.  
  
"Jess, that was three days, not a full time thing," Luke said. "Forget it." Luke grabbed the coffeepot and walked out from behind the counter. Jess followed him as Lorelai and Rory turned around on their stools and watched the conversation continue. "You've been here for almost nine months, and out of those nine months, you've done maybe four responsible things. How can you even think that you deserve your own place?"  
  
Jess followed him from table to table as Luke refilled the customers' coffee mugs. "Hey, I can be responsible when I want to be. If I had my own apartment, it'd give me a reason to be responsible."  
  
Luke scoffed and turned around. "I'll believe it when I see it."  
  
"Well, then give me a chance to make you see it," Jess said. Luke didn't say anything. Jess looked down at the floor and shifted his feet. "Please?"  
  
Luke sighed loudly and walked back to the counter. Jess followed him with his hands shoved in his pockets. Luke set the pot down on the counter and stared at the wall. Lorelai and Rory stared at Luke, waiting for him to say something. Jess stared down at the floor. They were all silent for almost a minute. The conversations of other customers floated around them, but the four of them said nothing.  
  
Finally, Luke turned to Jess. "Okay."  
  
Jess looked up, surprised. "What?"  
  
"Yeah, what?" Lorelai asked, just as surprised. "Uh, Luke, what are you doing?"  
  
Rory nudged her. "Shh, mind your own business," she said quietly.  
  
"I said okay," Luke repeated. "I'll give you a chance to prove you're responsible enough to have your own place. I'll think about it today and we'll set something up, get some rules worked out."  
  
Jess nodded. "Good, thank you."  
  
Luke looked at his watch. "And it starts with school. You will not miss anymore days this year," Luke said sternly. "Understood?"  
  
Jess groaned. "Fine," he mumbled. He grabbed a book off the back counter and walked toward the door.  
  
They all watched him leave the diner. When he was gone, Lorelai turned to Luke. "Luke, I don't know about this," she said warily.  
  
Luke ignored her. "What kind of Danish do you want?"  
  
Lorelai tilted her head and said, "Luke, are you sure this is the best idea?"  
  
Luke pursed his lips. "Lorelai, we'll talk about it later," he said sternly. "Now, what kind do you want? I have things to do."  
  
Lorelai sunk down on her stool and sighed. "Blueberry," she muttered.  
  
"Me too, please," Rory added quietly.  
  
Luke quickly placed their Danishes in front of them and then walked into the kitchen.  
  
Lorelai picked a piece off of hers and shoved it into her mouth. "Do you think it's a good idea?" she asked Rory.  
  
Rory shrugged. "I don't know. I know he can be responsible if he wants to be."  
  
"He's too young," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "He's not ready for this."  
  
"He's almost eighteen," Rory pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, well, just because the birth certificate says he's almost eighteen doesn't mean he acts like he's almost eighteen," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory took a sip of coffee, then said, "I'm a little confused."  
  
"About what?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Well, I'm sure the idea of him moving in with us wasn't exactly something you were looking forward to. And here he gets this great idea so he won't have to. . . . so I'd think you'd be happy about it," Rory said. "But you're against it. I don't get it. I mean, usually you. . . " Rory's voice trailed off and she took a bite of her Danish.  
  
"I what?" Lorelai asked curiously. "Only think about how things affect me?" she suggested.  
  
Rory shrugged. "I don't know, kind of. But I don't mean it in a bad way," she added quickly. "Well, it probably sounds like I do, but really, it's just how - "  
  
Lorelai waved her off. "I know, I know. But this is different. There're just so many other things to think about besides myself here. Crazy, I know, but it's true."  
  
Rory nodded, and they continued eating in silence as Lorelai thought things over. A few minutes later, they were both finished eating. Lorelai pulled some money out of her purse and dropped it on the counter, then stood up. "You ready?"  
  
Rory glanced at the money. "You're just leaving it there? You're not gonna say goodbye to Luke?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Nah, I'll see him later." She started walking toward the door.  
  
Rory stood up and followed her out of the diner. As they walked toward the bus stop, Rory said, "You know, you shouldn't be mad at him."  
  
"I'm not mad at anyone," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Then why didn't you want to say goodbye to him?" Rory asked. "It's a fairly odd occurrence when you leave that diner without saying goodbye to him, so something is obviously wrong."  
  
"He was busy," Lorelai said with a casual shrug. "No big deal, I'll see him later. Rory, I'm not mad. Why would I be mad?"  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "Because he's doing something that you don't want him to do and you don't have a say in it."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "That's not true. I didn't say I didn't want him to do it, I just said he needed to think it over some more."  
  
"Yeah, well, that means that you obviously don't think it's a good idea," Rory pointed out.  
  
Lorelai sighed as they reached the bus stop. "Oh look, the pretty bus stop, how nice." Lorelai gave Rory a quick kiss on the cheek. "Have a good day."  
  
"You too," Rory said. She sat down on the bench as Lorelai walked down the sidewalk. "Don't be mad at him!" Rory called. Lorelai exhaled loudly and kept walking toward the inn.  
  
* * *  
  
That afternoon, Lorelai walked into the diner. Caesar was at the cash register, and Lorelai walked up to him. "Hey, is Luke here?"  
  
Caesar nodded. "Storage room."  
  
"Thanks," Lorelai replied. She walked around the counter and made her way to the storage room. She knocked lightly on the doorframe and said, "Hey."  
  
Luke, who was unloading a box, looked up in surprise. "Hey." She walked into the room and sat on a small table. They were silent for a moment before he narrowed his eyes at her and asked, "Are you mad . . .about this whole Jess thing?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, I'm not mad."  
  
Luke nodded. "Good, because I've given a lot of thought to this, and I think that if he takes the time to prove that he can be responsible, I think he should get to have the apartment. I mean, he's up there by himself most of the time anyway, except at night. And I'm here in the diner almost all the time, so I'll always be around anyway. I don't see why it wouldn't work out."  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath, holding back the criticisms she wanted to express. "Mmhmm," she said, nodding. "Did you come up with some guidelines or something?"  
  
"Yeah, you wanna hear them?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah."  
  
Luke pulled out his order pad from his waistband and flipped to the back. "Okay, first, like I said this morning, he can't miss any more school. You know, unless he's really sick or there's an emergency or something. Plus, he has to pass all of his classes."  
  
"Got it, good start. Next?" Lorelai prompted.  
  
"Okay, this one's the most important one. He has to get a real job," Luke said. "Not that working here isn't a real job, but I mean a job where he doesn't work for a relative. A job where he works for a stranger and will have to prove himself responsible to keep it."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Ooh, good rule."  
  
"Then, once he's had the job for two months, he can have the apartment," Luke continued. "Now, depending on when he gets the job and depending on the exact date that I move in with you, he may have to move in, too. You know, just for a few days or even a few weeks so he can meet the two month minimum."  
  
"Yeah, he's gonna have to because Rory's last day is less than two months away, so there's no way he can meet the minimum if you move in that weekend," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke nodded. "Right, exactly." He looked down at his pad and continued, "Okay, so, he must keep the job, not only to continue proving his responsibility, but also because he will have to pay me rent and he will have to buy his own food. He wants to live by himself, he's gonna have to do all of his own things - cleaning, laundry, cooking, everything." He paused. "I mean, I'll probably help him out a little with money for clothes and necessities, at least in the beginning."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Right, those things can get expensive."  
  
"But he has to buy everything else himself. If he loses the job, he loses the apartment and he'll move into your house with us. That's that," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Wow, I'm impressed. Those are really good rules, Luke."  
  
Luke shrugged. "There are a few other smaller ones, but those are the main ones." He paused a moment, then shrugged and said, "I just think this'll be good for him. It'll make him realize that he can do something, that he can be someone. It'll make him see that I believe in him enough to give him a chance, you know?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I know. You know, I don't think he realizes how lucky he is to have you. I hope he appreciates it someday." Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him. "I'm lucky to have you, too."  
  
Luke smiled. "Right back atcha." He folded his pad and stuck it back into his waistband.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You have no idea how sexy that is."  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "What? This?" he asked, pointing to the pad.  
  
"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "It promotes dirty thoughts."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Everything for you promotes dirty thoughts. You can take the simplest thing and turn it into a sexual innuendo. You could probably turn this visit to the storage room into something dirty."  
  
Lorelai giggled and pointed at one of the shelves. "Well, there's a whole shelf of pickles right there."  
  
Luke smirked. "See? You have problems."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "I hope you're not insinuating that I have an obsession."  
  
"Actually, it's more like an insatiable addiction," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Oh man, look who's talking, mister touchy-feely over here. If I'm an addict, then so are you."  
  
"You're much worse than I am," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai shook her head slightly. "I don't think that's true, but you should consider yourself lucky. Most guys would love to have a so-called sex addict for a girlfriend."  
  
"I do love it," Luke said, smiling. "I'm not complaining, I'm just stating a fact."  
  
"Mmhmm," Lorelai said, nodding. "And I'm not complaining when I say you're just as much into it as I am."  
  
Luke sighed, then asked, "Look, what is the point of this conversation? You love it, I love it, we're damn good at it, let's leave it at that."  
  
"Oh, no no no," Lorelai said, wagging a finger at him. "I'm not going until you admit that you're just as much into it as me."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'm just as much into it as you," he said. "Happy?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, thank you."  
  
Luke nodded and walked over to a box of mayonnaise jars. "But I could go longer without it than you could," he muttered. He pulled out a jar and placed it on the shelf.  
  
Lorelai gasped and let out a laugh. "Oh my God, what?"  
  
Luke smiled and shook his head. "Nothing."  
  
"I heard you, Lucas," Lorelai said. "You're implying that I'm more of an addict by saying you could abstain longer than me."  
  
Luke shrugged. "That's not what I said. I just said that I could go longer without it, meaning that I have better control about it than you do."  
  
Lorelai stared at him with a smirk and tapped her fingers on the table. Finally, she said, "Care to make it interesting?"  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "How so?"  
  
"A friendly little bet between alleged sex addicts to see who can go the longest without it," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows. "You in?"  
  
"You're kidding me," Luke said with a laugh.  
  
"You watch Seinfeld," Lorelai said, smiling. "I'm sure you've seen that episode where they bet to see who can go the longest."  
  
Luke shook his head slightly. "You're crazy. You haven't had enough sugar today or something. Go eat a cookie."  
  
She ignored him. "This bet will be just like that one, but in addition to forgoing solitary acts of pleasure, there will be no mutual acts either." She smiled and nodded.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "This is stupid. We're not doing this. I'm not entering into this bet with you."  
  
"And if you win," she continued. "I'll give up coffee and junk food for a week."  
  
Luke snickered and walked over to her. "Yeah right. And what would you get if you win?"  
  
"Hmm, you would have to. . . ." Lorelai thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close to her, and whispered something into his ear.  
  
Luke pulled back and let out a small laugh. "You're out of your mind. No way, forget it, absolutely not. Go back to the inn, just forget this conversation ever happened. Pretend you haven't seen me all day."  
  
Lorelai leaned forward and raised her eyebrows. "Well, I think we found out who's more of an addict." She smirked at him. "Scared you're gonna lose?"  
  
"No, I'm not scared," he said, rolling his eyes. "This is just. . .stupid. And anyway, even if I was to agree to this ridiculous bet, my incentive to win isn't half as strong as yours. You giving up junk food doesn't do anything for me," he pointed out.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "So then think of something else you would want."  
  
Luke paused for a moment, biting his lip while he thought. He stared at Lorelai, who stared back at him expectantly. Finally, a sly smile appeared on his lips.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "What? You think of something?"  
  
Luke nodded. He leaned forward and whispered something into her ear.  
  
Lorelai let out a gasp of surprise and she pulled back from him, a sly smile on her face. "Wow, that's a little. . .hmm." She thought for a moment, then said, "Okay, deal."  
  
Luke laughed. "I didn't say I'd do it."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Come on, Luke, I really wanna see which one of us can last longer." She paused a moment. "Will you do it if we put a time limit on it?"  
  
Luke sighed. "Like, what, a week?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "A week? Everyone can go a week. That's nuts. I was thinking more like three weeks."  
  
"Two," he countered.  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Fine, two weeks. That's gonna be too easy, but we'll see what happens."  
  
Luke pursed his lips and folded his arms across his chest. "So, if we both last two weeks, then it's called off, right?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Right. You in?" She extended her hand.  
  
Luke exhaled loudly and shrugged, then shook her hand. "Okay, whatever. Two weeks." He shook his head slightly and mumbled, "Why do I let you talk me into things like this?"  
  
"Because I'm adorable and you love me," Lorelai replied. She clapped excitedly and said, "Okay, two weeks, starting now. No cheating, be honest. If you go out and hire a hooker on the side, you have to tell me."  
  
Luke smiled. "I will. Now get out of here." He pointed to the door.  
  
She frowned. "You're kicking me out? Why?"  
  
"Because you're wearing a skirt," Luke pointed out.  
  
A slow smile formed on Lorelai's lips. "Ah, I nearly forgot your fetish for legs." She giggled and stood up. "Ooh, this'll be fun. I have to make sure I have two weeks worth of skirts cleaned and ready to wear."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Just leave now, thank you."  
  
She smiled and leaned toward him. Before she reached him, she pulled back and said, "Wait, should we ban kissing?"  
  
Luke pressed his lips against hers and kissed her deeply. He pulled back and said, "No."  
  
Lorelai smiled and ran a finger over his cheek. "Bye."  
  
"Bye," Luke replied. He smiled as he watched her walk out of the storage room, then he turned around and went back to unloading boxes.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 25  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. She put her hands behind her head and stared up at the ceiling, then turned toward the nightstand and checked the clock. She thought for a moment, then reached over and grabbed the phone. She dialed quickly, stifling a yawn as she brought it to her ear.  
  
"Hello?" Luke answered.  
  
"Hey," Lorelai said. "You weren't sleeping yet, were you?"  
  
"Nope, not yet," Luke replied. "Everything okay?"  
  
"Yeah, everything's fine," Lorelai said. "Is Jess asleep?"  
  
"Yup, he's been out for an hour already," Luke said. "I guess all that reading tires him out or something."  
  
"So what happened?" Lorelai asked. "Did you go over all the rules with him?"  
  
"Yup," Luke replied. "I laid it all out for him. I told him exactly what he had to do to get and keep the apartment, and told him if he didn't wanna follow the rules, then he could just forget about it."  
  
"And?" she prompted.  
  
Luke sighed. "And then he turned around and walked out of the diner without saying a word."  
  
Lorelai let out a small laugh. "Guess he wasn't too fond of the rules."  
  
"Guess not," Luke said. "But then, two hours later, he walks through the door, stops at the counter to tell me he'll do it, then goes upstairs for the night."  
  
"Huh," Lorelai said, surprised. "So he's gonna get a job?"  
  
"Guess so," Luke replied. "We'll see what happens."  
  
"Yup," Lorelai said. She thought for a moment, then said, "You know, if he can't - oh, wait, never mind."  
  
"What?" Luke asked.  
  
"Nothing," Lorelai replied. "I was gonna say that if he can't find a job, then maybe I could find him something at the inn, but then I remembered that you wanted him to work for someone who didn't know him, and he and I aren't exactly strangers."  
  
"No, you're not," Luke said. "But thanks for offering."  
  
"You're welcome," Lorelai said. They were both quiet for a few seconds before Lorelai smiled to herself. "Hey, you know what we were doing at this time last week?"  
  
Luke thought for a moment, then smiled. "Hmm, yes I do."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "I believe it was around this time that we were entering the first phase of our all-night lovemaking extravaganza."  
  
"Yes, it was," Luke replied quickly. "Now stop it."  
  
"Stop what?" Lorelai asked slyly.  
  
"You're trying to bring it up so I'll start thinking about it and wanna cave in and lose the bet," Luke said. "I know you, Lorelai. I know what you're trying to do."  
  
Lorelai smiled, then forced a gasp. "Luke, I can't believe you think I'd try to get you to falter. You know I'm not like that. Not little old me. Not the little old me who's lying in bed naked right now, running her hand up and down her thigh."  
  
Luke laughed. "Very clever." There was a slight pause before he asked, "You're joking, right?"  
  
Lorelai giggled. "I guess you'll never know."  
  
Luke groaned quietly. "Are you gonna be like this for two weeks?"  
  
"Hmm, probably," she replied.  
  
"Should've known," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "Okay, I'm going to bed now. See you tomorrow."  
  
"'Night," Lorelai replied.  
  
* * *  
  
The next night, Lorelai and Rory stood in front of Emily and Richard's house. Lorelai was about to ring the bell, then suddenly turned to Rory and said, "Remember, don't - "  
  
"Don't mention the moving in," Rory finished, rolling her eyes. "I got it, Mom. You told me fifty times on the way here that you want to tell her when Luke's with you, I know. I won't say anything."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good, thanks." She pushed the doorbell, and a few seconds later, Emily pulled open the door. "Hi Mom," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hey Grandma," Rory said.  
  
"Well, hello girls," Emily replied, smiling. "Come in, come in." Lorelai and Rory walked inside. They hung up their purses on the coat rack, then followed Emily into the living room. "Can I get you a drink?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. White wine, please," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Coke's fine," Rory replied.  
  
"Oh, honey, Grandma doesn't like cocaine, remember?" Lorelai told Rory. "We'll make a stop on the way home and get your fix."  
  
"Stop it," Emily said sternly. She walked to the bar as Lorelai and Rory sat next to each other on the sofa. "So, tell me about Boston," Emily said.  
  
"Oh, it was great," Rory replied. "Dad showed me around the city, and we took an official tour of Harvard with a real tour guide. That was much more informative than Mom pointing to things and saying, 'look at that big old building'."  
  
Lorelai wagged a finger at her. "Hey, I showed you where the coffee stand was, that's all you need to know."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "And I got to see Dad's place and spend some time with him, so that was nice."  
  
Emily handed them their drinks, then sat across from them on the other couch. "And his girlfriend - I suppose you got to spend time with her too?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Yeah, but she let me and Dad have some time together without her, too, so that was fun."  
  
Emily smiled. "I bet it was." She turned to Lorelai. "And how about you?"  
  
Lorelai took a sip of wine and shrugged. "How about I what?"  
  
"Well, how was your trip?" Emily asked.  
  
"Oh. Great, it was great," Lorelai replied, smiling. "We went to the aquarium and the batting cages and . . . you know, just relaxed."  
  
"Mom stayed at a hotel with a spa," Rory added.  
  
Emily raised her eyebrows. "A spa, how lovely."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, it was great. We had fun." She patted Rory on the knee. "Though I missed my little angel here."  
  
Rory smiled. "Please, you probably forgot you even had a daughter."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Not true!" She wrinkled her nose. "Okay, maybe once or twice, I'm sorry."  
  
Rory smiled. "That's okay. I forgive you."  
  
Lorelai sipped her drink. "What about you, Mom? You said Dad took you out?"  
  
Emily smiled and nodded. "Yes, he took me to a very romantic Italian restaurant. I forget the name of it. Something - ino's. Gardino's? Angelino's?"  
  
"Maraschino's?" Lorelai suggested. "Been there, great cherries."  
  
Emily rolled her eyes. "Well, whatever it was called, it was very romantic. Candlelight on all the tables, a live band playing soft music while you eat, very private tables."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Sounds great."  
  
"Yes, it was lovely," Emily agreed. "Speaking of which, where is your father?" She stood up and walked toward the hallway calling, "Richard, the girls are here! For goodness sake, would it kill you to be on time for dinner just once in your life!"  
  
Lorelai and Rory glanced at each other and smiled. As Emily returned to the living room a few seconds later, she said, "He'll be out in a moment. Shall we head to the table?"  
  
Lorelai and Rory stood up and followed Emily to the dining room. "Uh, Mom," Lorelai said, clearing her throat. "Is it okay if I bring Luke with us to dinner next week?"  
  
Emily sat down in her chair and raised her eyebrows. "Well, I suppose that would be all right, yes. For any particular reason?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged as she slipped into her seat. "Not really, he just wants to come. You know, he knows that these dinners are for you and Dad to spend time with me and Rory, so he doesn't want to intrude on that, but he'd like to come occasionally."  
  
Emily smiled. "How nice." She opened her napkin and spread it open on her lap. "Of course he can come."  
  
Lorelai smiled at her. "Good, thanks."  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Rory knocked on Lorelai's door. "Mom, are you up?" she called. When there was no answer, she pushed opened the door and walked in. "Mom, it's 8:30."  
  
Lorelai lay on her stomach, her face buried in the pillows and her body covered with blankets. "So?" she mumbled. "It's Saturday, isn't it?"  
  
"Yes, it is," Rory said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Then what the heck are you doing waking me up?" Lorelai muttered. She waved her away. "Go back to bed."  
  
"You told me to wake you up for the softball game," Rory reminded her. "It starts at nine." Rory pulled the covers off of her.  
  
Lorelai groaned loudly and blindly grabbed for her covers. When she couldn't find them, she reluctantly sat up. She squinted into the brightness of the room, then rubbed her eyes. "Why did I have to fall in love with some who likes sports? Why can't he like shopping or knitting or gardening or anything that doesn't involve me having to sit outside on bleachers on a Saturday morning?"  
  
Rory smiled. "Okay, so basically you wish Luke was just like that gay guy who has his own decorating show?"  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Hey, if it means I get to sleep in on the weekends, why not?"  
  
Rory rolled her eyes and smiled. "Because Luke's too much of a manly man to ever be converted." She stood up and walked over to Lorelai's dresser. She pulled out a pair of jeans and tossed it on the bed.  
  
Lorelai picked them up and shook her head. "No, hand me the low-rise ones. I need to show skin."  
  
Rory narrowed her eyes at her. "You need to show skin at a softball game?"  
  
Lorelai nodded and smiled. "Don't ask." Lorelai tossed her jeans back to Rory.  
  
Rory shook her head. "I won't." Rory threw her the low-rise ones and put the other pair back in the drawer. She walked over to the closet and pulled out a T-shirt. She turned around and held it up. "This okay?"  
  
Lorelai nodded and climbed off the bed. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned loudly.  
  
Rory tossed the shirt on the bed. "Okay, meet me downstairs. Hurry up." She walked down the steps.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Lorelai walked downstairs as she was pulling her hair up into a ponytail. Rory was on the couch waiting for her. "Ready?"  
  
Lorelai nodded as she yawned. "Yup."  
  
Rory stood up. "Okay, let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
By the time Lorelai and Rory arrived at the park, the game had already started. As soon as they sat down on the bleachers, a voice from behind them said, "Lorelai?"  
  
She turned around and saw Kirk sitting two rows behind them. "Yeah?"  
  
Kirk held out a white paper bag and said, "Luke told me to give this to you the minute you got here or else I would be permanently banned from the diner."  
  
Lorelai smiled and took it from him. "Thanks."  
  
He turned and picked up two takeout cups. "And these, too."  
  
Lorelai smiled and took them. "Thanks." She turned around and handed one to Rory, then squinted toward the field, using her hand to shade the sun from her eyes. "Do you see Luke?" she asked Rory.  
  
Rory stared out into the field. "No." She glanced at the bench of players. "He's by the bench. His side must be up."  
  
"Up where?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Up to bat," Rory said, rolling her eyes. "Do you know anything about softball?"  
  
"No, and I'm perfectly happy staying that way," Lorelai said. She glanced at the bench, smiling when she saw Luke talking to another player. She stood up and waved to catch his attention. He glanced toward her, and smiled and waved at her before turning back to his conversation.  
  
Lorelai sat back down. "Okay, he knows I'm here. That's the extent of my duties as girlfriend, right?"  
  
"Right," Rory said, nodding.  
  
"Good. Do you see Dean?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yup, he's right over there," Rory said, pointing into the field. She waved to him. "Okay, he saw me. My job's done, too."  
  
"Wow, we're the best girlfriends ever," Lorelai remarked. She opened the bag and pulled out a muffin. She handed it to Rory, then pulled out the second one.  
  
Rory took a bite of her muffin. "Mmm, that's good. Is this how he got you to come to the game, by bribing you with food?"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "No! I offered to come, then politely asked him if he could bring me breakfast."  
  
"And he just said yes?" Rory asked, surprised. "He just automatically agreed to bring you junk food?"  
  
Lorelai took a sip of her coffee before she smiled and said, "I pouted."  
  
"Ah." Rory smiled and nodded knowingly. "No man can resist the pout. It's a woman's greatest weapon." She bit into her muffin.  
  
"That it is," Lorelai agreed. "Have you been working on yours?"  
  
"Mmhmm," Rory said with her mouth full. She swallowed her food, then showed Lorelai her pout.  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Very impressive for such a young age!"  
  
Rory smiled. "Well, you are the best pouter in all of Connecticut, so I must have some of those genes."  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, as the game finished up, they wandered over to the fence and waited for the guys to walk off the field. Dean walked over talked to them for a few minutes, then he and Rory left.  
  
Lorelai walked over to the bench, where Luke was the last person left gathering his things together. Lorelai tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and smiled when he saw her. "Hey."  
  
"Hey." Lorelai smiled. Luke dropped the bat he was holding, then put his hands on her waist and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him, and grimaced at how damp his shirt was. "Ew, okay, just another reason to hate sports. What's with the massive amount of sweat?"  
  
Luke laughed and pulled back from her. "Sorry."  
  
She smiled and kissed him, then pulled back and said, "I'll live." She leaned in and kissed him again.  
  
As they broke apart, he glanced at her outfit. He ran a finger over her exposed stomach and smiled. "Wearing my favorite pair of jeans, are we?"  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Oh, are these your favorite? I had no idea."  
  
Luke smiled and rolled his eyes. "Right." He turned around and finished putting his things into his bag, then they started walking toward the diner.  
  
Lorelai put her hands in her pockets. "So, any news on the 'Jess looking for a job' front?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "He said he filled out a few applications, but he didn't tell me where. I just. . ." Luke sighed. "I hope it's not too hard for him to get something. I know a lot of people probably won't wanna give him a chance."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Hopefully he'll find something."  
  
"How was dinner last night?" Luke asked.  
  
"Good, it was good," Lorelai said. "My mom said it was okay for you to come with us next week."  
  
Luke nodded. "Okay, good."  
  
"Yeah, but you're gonna have to pass the secret test to get in," Lorelai said. "Now, I'm not sure what it'll be this time, but the last time it involved live chickens and Christmas wrapping paper, so be prepared for anything."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Where do you come up with this stuff?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Just pops into my head." They continued walking for a few seconds before Lorelai glanced at him and asked, "Is that the hat I gave you a long time ago?"  
  
Luke glanced upward. "Uh, yeah. It's the only one I've worn since you gave it to me."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Really? You've been wearing only that hat for the past two years?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yup."  
  
"You've washed it, I hope?" Lorelai asked.  
  
He smiled. "Once or twice. You can't wash a hat too many times because it doesn't always come out the same, so I try to keep the washings to a minimum."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Huh. Learn something new everyday." They had reached Luke's truck, which was parked right in front of the diner. Lorelai leaned against the door. "So that makes two new things I've learned today."  
  
"Oh yeah? What else did you learn?" Luke asked. He put his bag in the back of the truck, then turned to her.  
  
She grabbed his arm and pulled him over so he was directly in front of her. She smiled and lowered her voice. "That watching you play softball is not a good thing to do when we're in an abstinence contest."  
  
Luke let out a laugh. "Watching me be physically active turns you on?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Oh, you have no idea," she said. She kissed him, then pulled back and said, "And it makes me hungry. Got any more muffins?" She gave him a hopeful smile.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and walked toward the diner. "Come on."  
  
Lorelai smiled and followed him. "Oh, did I mention I have business class today?"  
  
"You still go to class?" Luke asked, surprised. "You haven't gone in awhile." He pulled open the door and they walked inside.  
  
"Yeah, we had a few weeks off because my professor was sick or dying or something like that, so he mailed us all of these packets to read and work on," Lorelai said. She groaned as she sat down at the counter. "It was a lot of work. You'd think if he was really sick he wouldn't want to have to come back and grade all of this stuff, but apparently he didn't think of that."  
  
Luke, who had gone behind the counter, washed his hands at the sink. "Yeah. So how many more classes are left?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, two or three, I think. Then I graduate and never have to worry about it again," she added with a smile.  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "You're graduating?" He set a muffin in front of her.  
  
"Thanks," she said, reaching for the muffin. "Yup, this is the last class I need for my degree."  
  
"That's. . .wow, that's great." Luke smiled at her. "Really great. I'm proud of you."  
  
Lorelai smiled shyly toward the counter. "Thanks."  
  
He pointed toward the staircase. "Okay, I'm gonna go take a shower and get changed. Will you be here when I get back?"  
  
Lorelai checked her watch. "Mm, probably not. I have things to do before class."  
  
"Okay, I'll see you later then," Luke said. He leaned over the counter and kissed her cheek. "Bye."  
  
"Bye," she replied. "Thanks for breakfast."  
  
He smiled and nodded, then headed up to his apartment. Lorelai finished her muffin and walked out of the diner. As she passed the bookstore, Jess walked out. She stopped and said, "Hey."  
  
He nodded toward her. "Hi."  
  
She gestured toward the bookstore. "Doing a little shopping?"  
  
He shook his head. "Nah."  
  
"Oh, just browsing?" she asked.  
  
"Nah," he replied.  
  
"Uh, shoplifting?" she joked.  
  
He shook his head. "Applied for a job," he mumbled.  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Really? That'd be a great job for you since. . .you know, you like to read."  
  
Jess shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't really think that guy likes me, so. . ."  
  
"Who? Andrew?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I don't know who it was," he replied. "It's kind of hard to find a job in this town when all the people hiring already hate you."  
  
"Aw, not everyone hates you," Lorelai insisted. "I'm sure you'll find something."  
  
He shrugged. "We'll see." He pointed toward the diner. "I gotta get to the diner for the lunch shift."  
  
Lorelai nodded and stepped out of his way. She bit her lip as she watched Jess walk to the diner, then she turned toward the bookstore. She stared at the door for a moment, then took a deep breath and walked inside.  
  
She walked up to Andrew at the counter. "Hey."  
  
Andrew smiled. "Lorelai, hi. Can I help you with something?"  
  
"Uh, yes, actually you can," she replied. She pointed toward the door. "Um, you know Jess, he just left here?"  
  
Andrew rolled his eyes. "Yes, I do," he said dryly. "The kid thinks I'll hire him after all the trouble he's caused in this town."  
  
"Yeah, see, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Lorelai said. "See, what I'm about to say is probably going to make me sound crazy, but I just need you to listen to me with an extremely open mind, okay?"  
  
Andrew folded his arms across his chest. "I'm listening."  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner and sat down at the last empty table. "Ugh," Lorelai said, glancing around. "It's so crowded. That means the service won't be as good."  
  
"I don't know, we seem to get really good service here no matter how crowded it is," Rory commented.  
  
"Yeah, it must be because we're such loyal customers," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that must be it."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I can't think of any other reason." She glanced up and saw Caesar walking toward them with two cups of coffee. He set them on the table. "Thanks."  
  
"Burgers?" he asked, taking out his order pad.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yup, two please."  
  
He scribbled it on his pad and said, "Coming right up."  
  
"Thanks," Lorelai replied. As Caesar walked away, Lorelai took a sip of coffee and said, "Guess Luke's cooking."  
  
"Probably," Rory agreed.  
  
"Oh my God, you know what I saw on tv yesterday?" Lorelai said. "There was this show and it had this cool segment that showed you how toothbrushes are made. Do you know they stick all of those bristles in one by one? They have this huge machine that does it super fast. It was really cool to watch."  
  
Rory nodded. "Sounds interesting. What show was it on?"  
  
Lorelai looked down at her coffee cup. "Uh, I don't remember."  
  
Rory smiled. "You do too. Come on, what was it?"  
  
Lorelai looked up and wrinkled her nose. "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood."  
  
Rory laughed. "Oh my God!"  
  
"I was flipping through the channels and I saw the toothbrush thing and it was cool. I didn't realize what show it was on!" Lorelai insisted.  
  
Rory shook her head slightly. "I can't believe that. That's so funny."  
  
"What's so funny?" a voice asked. Both girls looked up and saw Luke standing at their table. Lorelai smiled as he leaned down and kissed her. "Hey."  
  
"Hi," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hey Luke," Rory said. "Mom was watching Mr. Rogers yesterday."  
  
Lorelai frowned at Rory. "It was only for a few minutes," she told Luke. "They had a cool segment on toothbrushes."  
  
Luke gave her an amused look. "Whatever keeps you entertained," he said with a shrug.  
  
Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Rory. "See, he doesn't care what I watch. And Mr. Rogers is cool, anyway. He shows segments like that all the time. I remember one time he showed how a box of crayons is put together, how they're all molded and stuff. That was cool. Oh, and one time he showed how paper is made."  
  
Rory laughed. "What, do you watch it everyday?"  
  
Luke laughed. "Yeah, watching it once was okay but now it's starting to scare me."  
  
"Do you have a secret shrine to Mr. Rogers in your closet?" Rory asked, smiling.  
  
Lorelai sighed loudly. "Forget it, you don't understand. Mr. Rogers is feeding me knowledge about the world, knowledge I might need in the future. You never know, one day I might be on a game show and I could be asked how a toothbrush is made and I'll know the answer and I'll win a million dollars and I'm going to remember that you two were making fun of me and I won't share any of it with either of you." Lorelai frowned at them.  
  
Luke put his hand on Lorelai's shoulder. "Okay, no more mocking. Although I'm now considering buying sweaters like his just to get your attention."  
  
"Okay, okay," Lorelai said, putting her hands over her ears. "It's done, over, not funny anymore. New subject."  
  
Luke smiled. "Actually, I have to get back to work now anyway."  
  
"Okay," Lorelai replied. "See you later."  
  
"Bye Luke," Rory said.  
  
Luke started to walk away, then turned back to Lorelai and said, "Uh, stop in the kitchen to see me before you leave, okay?"  
  
Lorelai nodded, and he turned and walked back into the kitchen. A few minutes later, their meals were brought out. When they finished eating, Lorelai paid for them, then walked into the kitchen and glanced around, looking for Luke. She finally spotted him near the back door. She walked over to him and said, "Hey. We're just about to leave."  
  
He turned around and smiled at her. He took her hand and led her out the back door. He gently pressed her up against the building and kissed her hungrily. She was surprised by his intensity, but eagerly kissed him back. A soft moan escaped her throat as she brought her hands up around his neck. He pulled back from her for a few seconds to catch his breath, then immediately pressed his lips back against hers. Several seconds later, he pulled back from her and both of them were out of breath.  
  
Lorelai smiled through her panting. "What was that?"  
  
Luke took a few deep breaths. "That was the most I can do without losing this contest," he said. "Which I'm pretty sure is gonna be the death of me."  
  
"Ah, getting a little antsy already, huh?" Lorelai said, smiling slyly.  
  
Luke answered her by leaning in to kiss her again.  
  
She moaned softly through the kiss, then pulled back. "Okay, okay. I'm getting out of here before I do something I shouldn't do in a back alley."  
  
He smiled and stepped back from her. They stared at each other momentarily before they leaned toward each other and kissed again. Lorelai smiled through the kiss and said, "Okay, now I'm really going."  
  
Luke smiled and took her hand. They walked through the door, and he led her through the kitchen and into the diner. "Bye," Luke said.  
  
"Bye," she replied. She walked out from behind the counter and over to Rory at their table. "Ready to go?"  
  
Rory nodded and stood up. "Yeah. What did he want?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and glanced toward him at the counter. "Oh, he just wanted to tell me something." She waved toward Luke as she and Rory walked out of the diner.  
  
* * *  
  
On Monday night, the doorbell rang. Lorelai pulled open the front door and smiled as she saw Luke. "Hey." She looked at his black T-shirt and smirked. "Mm, trying to make me cave by showing off your muscles?"  
  
Luke smiled as he stepped inside. "Maybe."  
  
"You're shameless," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward her for a kiss.  
  
Luke pulled back from her and scoffed. "I'm shameless? What about you wearing the shortest skirt known to man yesterday?"  
  
Lorelai gasped. "It was hot out!"  
  
"And eating a banana in the most seductive way possible," Luke added.  
  
Lorelai giggled and led him into the living room. "Okay, so I'm shameless, I'm sorry."  
  
"Where's Rory?" Luke asked.  
  
"Library," Lorelai replied. They sat down on the couch. "What do you wanna do?"  
  
Luke smiled. "What do I want to do?" He took her hand and stroked it with his thumb.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Oh, sorry, I know what we both want to do. Let me rephrase that - what should we do?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know. Watch something?"  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Nah, I've been watching stuff all afternoon. Let's just hang out and talk."  
  
Luke nodded, then nonchalantly adjusted his sleeve so his tattoo showed.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Subtle." She ran her finger over the tattoo. "Would you ever get another one?"  
  
"I don't know. What do you have in mind?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you could get 'I love Lorelai' tattooed on your butt?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "See, what would be the point of that? Then you'd be the only one who'd see it, but you already know that I love you, so it'd be a waste of money. If you're gonna get a tattoo that tells people something, it has to be somewhere that other people would actually see it."  
  
Lorelai gave him an amused smile. "Ahh, I get it. So maybe your forehead might be a better spot."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yup, exactly. 'I love Lorelai' is going right here." He ran a finger over his forehead. "Tomorrow morning, I'll run out and get that done."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Good, good. Can't wait to see that. Ooh, maybe I'll come with you and get a matching 'I love Luke' one. Only I can get it on my butt because, unlike your butt, everyone sees mine."  
  
"Right, because of your hobby of roaming the streets naked," Luke said knowingly.  
  
"Exactly." Lorelai smiled and stood up. "Let's go for a walk and get some ice cream or something."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and stood up. "How about we stop at the market and get some fruit instead?"  
  
Lorelai giggled. "You're cute." She kissed him, then pulled back and wrinkled her nose. "But no."  
  
She turned and walked toward the door. Luke followed her out onto the porch and they walked toward the center of town.  
  
"So, uh, seriously, how are you holding up?" Lorelai asked. "Come close to caving at all?"  
  
Luke shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "Not really. But, I mean, it's only been a few days. Ask me later this week, I'm sure I'll have a different answer. What about you?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "It's been pretty easy so far. Should be simple enough to last the whole two weeks."  
  
Luke laughed. "You're pretty confident."  
  
"Yes, I am," Lorelai said with a shrug. "I mean, I've gone way longer than two weeks without it before, haven't you?"  
  
"Yeah, but this is different," Luke said. "When you're in a relationship and it becomes a consistent habit, you just get so used to it. I think it's gonna be harder to go without it as the days add on."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I guess we'll see."  
  
"Yeah, we will," Luke said.  
  
They reached the ice cream stand and stood at the end of the line. Luke pulled out his wallet, but Lorelai pushed it away. "Don't worry about it, I got it." As they moved up in line, she pulled some money out of her pocket. "Do you want anything? I think they have frozen yogurt."  
  
"Nah, I'm good," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Okay." She turned to the window and ordered. "Um, one scoop of chocolate chip mint in a cone, please." Luke wandered over to a bench as Lorelai paid for her ice cream. She grabbed a few napkins and sat next to him.  
  
She tasted the ice cream and moaned happily. "Mmm, that's good. Wanna try it?" she asked, holding the cone out to him.  
  
He shook his head. "No, thanks."  
  
She pushed the ice cream against her mouth, leaving it all over lips. She smiled and asked, "How 'bout now?"  
  
Luke hesitated for a moment before he leaned forward and kissed her, licking the ice cream off of her lips. He pulled back and glanced around uncomfortably.  
  
Lorelai giggled. "No one's watching you, stop being paranoid. How was it?"  
  
He picked up a napkin and wiped his lips. "Tasty."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded, then licked her ice cream cone. She encased her lips around it and sucked on it lightly, swirling it around in her mouth. After several seconds, she glanced over at Luke and noticed him staring at her intently. She pulled the cone away from her lips, then smiled and said, "What?"  
  
Luke swallowed hard and shrugged. "Nothing."  
  
She looked at the ice cream cone, then back at Luke. She smiled and nodded knowingly. "Ah, I see." She seductively ran the tip of her tongue over the ice cream. "You like this?"  
  
Luke smiled and turned his head away. "Wow, look at that nice fire hydrant," he said, pointing toward the street.  
  
Lorelai laughed and rubbed his thigh. "Ah, poor Luke's trying not to cave."  
  
Luke stared straight ahead. "You know, I was thinking about only serving turkey burgers at the diner from now on."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Okay, okay, I'm stopping!"  
  
Luke turned to her and smiled. "Thought that would do it."  
  
Luke wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she leaned against him. She bit into her cone and chewed it slowly as she watched the people walk by. A couple walked by hand in hand. When they passed, Lorelai whispered, "We're much hotter than them."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yup."  
  
Lorelai took another bite of her cone. When she was finished chewing, she turned to him and smiled. "Hey, you know what?"  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
She leaned toward him so that their faces were just inches apart. "Only forty-six more days to go."  
  
Luke smiled and kissed her. "I know. Excited?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Very. You?"  
  
"Yup," he replied. He smiled and kissed her again. "Love you," he said softly.  
  
She smiled and said, "Love you, too." They stared into each other's eyes momentarily before she pulled back and said, "Wow, we have to re-enact this scene after this contest thing is over because that was the perfect pre-sex scenario."  
  
Luke laughed. "Yeah, it was nice," he agreed. He stood up and said, "You ready?"  
  
She shoved the last piece of cone into her mouth and mumbled, "Mmhmm." She wiped her mouth with a napkin and threw it in a nearby garbage can. She laced her fingers through Luke's and they started walking down the sidewalk.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 26  
  
* * *  
  
On Wednesday night, Lorelai and Rory were sitting at a table in the diner. They had finished eating and were in mid conversation when Luke walked over and sat down with them. Rory looked at him and said, "Luke, please tell her to just do it."  
  
He turned to Lorelai. "Just do it," he said sternly.  
  
Lorelai took a sip of coffee, then smiled at him. "Just do what?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know." He turned to Rory. "Just do what?"  
  
"Go to her graduation ceremony," Rory said. "It's in two weeks, and I know she wants to go but she needs some convincing. Tell her to go."  
  
Luke turned to Lorelai. "Why wouldn't you want to go?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "It's community college, it's nothing big."  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "Nothing big? It's huge, Lorelai. Community college is just as important as any other college."  
  
"Plus, she's never even been to a graduation ceremony before," Rory pointed out.  
  
"Not true," Lorelai said. "The Bayside High School graduation ceremony was so realistic I felt like I was right there sitting next to Zack and Slater as they sang the school song." She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you used to make me watch that with you."  
  
"Okay, number one, fictional graduations don't count, and number two, you're going," Rory said.  
  
"Yes, you're going," Luke said. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."  
  
Lorelai glanced down at the table for a moment, then looked up and sighed. "You really think I should go?"  
  
Rory and Luke both nodded.  
  
Lorelai sighed softly. "Okay, I'll go, but if I trip and fall while I'm walking on stage and it turns out to be the most embarrassing night of my life, I'm blaming the both of you for the rest of your lives."  
  
Luke smiled. "Fair enough."  
  
Lorelai took a sip of coffee. "Oh, I almost forgot. I have a favor to ask you."  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
"Will you have some time within the next few days to come to the inn and fix the railing on the back porch?" Lorelai asked. "There are a couple of places where it's sorta wiggly and I can't really afford a lawsuit."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, but don't you have a handyman?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Please, my handyman doesn't even know how to hold the hammer right."  
  
Luke smiled. "Uh, you might wanna get a new one then. Just a tip."  
  
"I'm working on it," she replied. "So you can do it?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll get to it this weekend," he replied.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."  
  
Luke smiled and nodded. "You're welcome." He leaned back in his chair. "So, what are you guys doing tonight?"  
  
"I'm going over to Sookie's. We're gonna start working on the bridesmaid dresses," Lorelai said.  
  
"I really like the color you guys picked out," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Me too. That green is so pretty. Did I show it to you yet?" she asked Luke.  
  
He shook his head. "No, not yet."  
  
"You'll like it," Lorelai said, smiling. "The dresses are gonna be beautiful."  
  
Luke smiled. "I'm sure they will be." He turned to Rory. "So, are you helping with the dresses tonight, too?"  
  
Rory shook her head. "Nope, Lane's coming over and we're gonna hang out."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Not gonna trash the place, are you?"  
  
"Probably," Rory replied, nodding. She smiled and took a sip of coffee.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay, just don't break the television. I wanna watch the E! True Hollywood Story about the Brat Pack tomorrow night."  
  
"You've seen it like ten times already," Rory pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, but I find it completely fascinating to watch how those guys screwed up their lives," Lorelai said. "You can never see that enough."  
  
"True," Rory agreed. She took a sip of coffee and stood up. "Okay, I'm leaving. I'll see you tonight, Mom. Bye Luke."  
  
"Bye, hon," Lorelai said.  
  
"Bye," Luke said.  
  
Rory walked out of the diner. Lorelai glanced at the counter and saw Jess walk into the kitchen. "Uh, so what happened with Jess? Did he find a job?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Oh, yeah, actually, he did," Luke said, smiling. "He's working at the bookstore."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "The bookstore? Wow, that'll be great for him."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, I think so, too. I mean, he doesn't seem too thrilled with the idea right now, you know, having to work and stuff, but I think once he gets into a routine, it'll be fine."  
  
"Yeah, it'll be good," Lorelai said, nodding. She pulled some money out of her purse and dropped it on the table. "I should get to Sookie's." She stood up.  
  
"Yeah, and I should get back to the kitchen." Luke stood up and walked her to the door. They kissed goodbye and she walked out of the diner.  
  
* * *  
  
That Friday night, Luke joined Lorelai and Rory at Emily and Richard's house. When they had finished eating, the five of them moved into the living room for drinks. During a lull in the conversation, Lorelai looked at Rory and gave a slight nod.  
  
Rory nodded and cleared her throat. "Uh, Grandpa? Do you think we could go look at the books in your study? I saw one I wanted to borrow the last time I was in there. Maybe you could help me find it?"  
  
Richard stood up. "Why, certainly, Rory. Follow me." As Rory followed him out of the living room, she glanced back at Lorelai, who gave her an appreciative smile.  
  
Lorelai reached down and grabbed Luke's hand. "Uh, Mom, we want to tell you something."  
  
"Yes?" Emily said, looking at them expectantly. She suddenly gasped and clasped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God! You're engaged again!"  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "What?"  
  
"No, Mom, that's not it," Lorelai said quickly, waving her off.  
  
"Oh, then what is it?" Emily asked. Suddenly, she pursed her lips and put a hand in the center of her chest. "You're pregnant." She glared accusingly at Luke.  
  
Luke's eyes went even wider. "What?" he said loudly. "No, no, she's not pregnant!" His face tightened and he turned to Lorelai. "You're not, right?" he whispered.  
  
Lorelai smiled and shook her head. She turned to Emily and said, "That's not it either, Mom, but you're doing a good job of scaring the heck out of Luke. Care to take another stab at it?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Emily took a sip of wine, then placed her glass on the coffee table. "No, why don't you just tell me, Lorelai?" She folded her hands and placed them on her lap.  
  
Lorelai glanced at Luke and took a deep breath before she turned back to Emily. "Uh, Luke and I are going to live together. He's gonna be moving in with me and Rory in June." She swallowed hard and bit her lip as she waited for Emily's reaction. Sensing her nervousness, Luke slipped an arm around Lorelai's waist, reassuring her that he was right there.  
  
Her lips pursed, Emily nodded slowly. "Mmhmm." She took a deep breath and stared down at the coffee table.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and sighed. "What, Mother? What is it? Just say what you want to say."  
  
Emily shrugged. "This is your life, Lorelai, and you can do whatever you want with it. I have nothing to say."  
  
"Yes, you do," Lorelai said loudly. "You have to have something negative to say - do you know why? Because I'm happy about this, and whenever I'm happy about something, you always, always, always find something negative to say! So, go on, say what you want to say!"  
  
Luke put his hand on Lorelai's knee and rubbed it gently, which she understood meant that she needed to calm down. She took a few deep breaths before she continued. "Look, you always say that I never share things with you about my life, right? That I always try to shut you out from what's going on, right? Okay, so here I am, sharing the most important thing in my life with you, and I'm just asking you to try and be happy for me. . .for us."  
  
Emily's face showed little emotion. She blinked her eyes slowly several times, then said, "You've only been together a short while. You don't move in with someone this quickly, especially when there's a child involved."  
  
Lorelai scoffed and started to respond but Luke cleared his throat and said, "Uh, you should understand that this is not exactly something we're rushing into. We've thought about it and discussed it a lot, especially about how it'll affect Rory. We've talked with her about it, and we wouldn't be doing this if she wasn't completely comfortable with it." Luke paused a moment before he added, "And it's not something we'd even be talking about if we didn't think it would be. . .permanent." Luke turned and smiled at Lorelai, who had been staring at him as he spoke.  
  
Lorelai grabbed Luke's hand and laced her fingers through his. She smiled at him, then turned to Emily. "Exactly. Um, so the bottom line is that we're doing this whether you're happy for us or not, Mom. It'd just make things . . .nicer if you were."  
  
Emily was quiet for a moment. She glanced back and forth between Luke and Lorelai, then shook her head slightly. "I still think it's way too soon."  
  
Lorelai sighed loudly. "Okay, well, that's not really - " She stopped talking as Richard and Rory entered the room.  
  
"Sorry about that," Richard said. He walked over and sat down next to Emily. "What did we miss?"  
  
Rory, who was holding a book, sat down next to Lorelai. "Did you tell her?" she whispered. Lorelai nodded.  
  
"Richard, Lorelai was just explaining how Luke's going to be moving in with them in June," Emily said.  
  
Richard raised his eyebrows. "Is that so? Well, I must say, that makes me feel a little better."  
  
Emily gasped. "Excuse me?"  
  
"Yes, it's not safe for those girls to be living all alone," Richard said. "Something could happen."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "We've been living alone for sixteen years, Dad. Nothing's happened so far."  
  
"Yes, but it's always safer to have a man around," Richard said.  
  
"Oh, Dad, I forgot to tell you, you got call earlier from the women's liberation movement," Lorelai said. "They want to have a few words with you."  
  
Luke smiled and stood up. "Okay, we should get going."  
  
"Thanks for the book, Grandpa," Rory said, standing up. "And thanks for dinner, Grandma."  
  
Lorelai stood up slowly. "Yeah, thanks for dinner."  
  
Luke shook Richard's hand. "Sir, good to see you again."  
  
"Yes, same here," Richard said.  
  
Luke turned to Emily and extended his hand. "Dinner was great, thanks."  
  
Emily shook his hand. "Yes, thank you for coming."  
  
Lorelai took Luke's hand and led him to the front door, and Rory, Emily and Richard followed. They exchanged goodbyes and the three guests stepped out onto the porch. The door closed behind them and they walked slowly to the Jeep. They climbed in and Luke started the engine.  
  
"So, Grandma didn't really -," Rory started.  
  
"Not right now, hon," Lorelai said, shaking her head. She leaned back against the headrest and closed her eyes.  
  
"Okay, sorry," Rory replied quietly.  
  
Luke looked at Rory in the rearview mirror. "Going to Dean's house, right?"  
  
Rory nodded. "We're gonna watch a movie."  
  
Luke nodded and pulled out of the driveway.  
  
* * *  
  
Forty-five minutes later, they pulled up in front of Dean's house. Lorelai stepped out of the car to let Rory out, and Rory gave Lorelai a kiss on the cheek. "See you at home."  
  
"Bye sweets, have fun," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory lowered her head to look into the Jeep. "Bye Luke."  
  
"Bye, have fun," he replied.  
  
As Rory walked toward the house, Lorelai climbed back into the car and stared out the passenger side window. Luke stared at her momentarily but didn't say anything. They drove back to her house and pulled into the driveway.  
  
Luke turned off the engine and turned to look at her. She sat staring at the house with her arms folded across her chest. Finally, he asked, "You okay?"  
  
Lorelai turned to him and smiled. "Mmhmm."  
  
Luke took a deep breath. "Are you . . . changing your mind?"  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "What? No, not at all! Why do you think that?"  
  
"Because I just don't get why you seem so upset when things weren't really that bad tonight," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not upset, exactly; I'm just thinking about things." Lorelai was quiet for a few seconds as she stared out the window. She turned back to Luke and said, "I was just thinking about how nice it would be to actually tell my mother something and to have her just. . .be happy for me. You know, without all the criticism and snarky remarks and everything. Just to see her smile and be happy for me, that's what I want."  
  
Luke reached for her hand and stroked it with his thumb. "Don't give up on that idea. It might happen someday."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "I doubt it." She shook her head slightly and muttered, "Why couldn't she just smile and say, 'that's nice, Lorelai' or 'wow, congratulations. I'm happy for you.' I just don't get her."  
  
Luke sighed. "Look, this moving in idea - we're both happy about it, right?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah."  
  
Luke shrugged. "So, then, it doesn't matter how your mom feels about it. Instead of worrying about her, think about yourself for a change."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Wow, no one's ever commented that I don't think about myself enough."  
  
Luke smiled. "Forget everyone else and just concentrate on what this means to you. Think about how great it's gonna be for us. That's what I do." He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "I mean, you know what I love to think about?" he asked softly. "I think about how, when I wake up in the morning, the very first thing I'm gonna see is you. You have no idea how happy that makes me."  
  
Lorelai tilted her head and smiled at him. "You're so sweet. That makes me happy, too," she said softly. She took his face in her hands and pressed her lips gently against his. She pulled back slightly and stared into his eyes. "You have really nice eyes. The first time I realized that you cared for me, it's because I saw it in your eyes. They told me," Lorelai said.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Luke asked. "What are they telling you now?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "They're telling me that I should kiss you again."  
  
Luke smiled. "I think you should listen to them."  
  
She leaned forward and kissed him, gently at first but then with more intensity. She parted his lips with her tongue and ran it over his, beginning a rhythmic swirling in their mouths that made a soft moan escape her throat. As the kiss deepened and her arousal increased, Lorelai suddenly pulled back. Panting heavily, she said, "There's still a week left."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and groaned. "I told you to make it only one week. Maybe you should listen to me next time." He leaned forward and kissed her again.  
  
She eagerly returned the kiss until both of them were breathless. She finally pulled back and said, "Oh my God, you have to leave."  
  
Luke's chest was heaving as he asked, "What? Why?"  
  
Lorelai leaned forward and whispered, "Because I'm so turned on right now I'm about to explode."  
  
Luke pulled back and gave her a sly smile. "Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yes. That's why you have to leave right now, because I refuse to lose this contest and who knows what'll happen if you stay."  
  
Luke smiled and leaned toward her, but she pushed open her door and climbed out. He grabbed the keys out of the ignition and climbed out, too. He quickly walked over to her side, but she turned and ran toward the house. "Stay away from me!" she called laughingly over her shoulder.  
  
Luke chased her up the porch and caught her by wrapping his arms around her waist. He turned her around and pressed her up against the front door. His lips immediately went to hers in a passionate kiss that made her body thrive with excitement.  
  
When they finally broke apart, Lorelai playfully pushed Luke away from her. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to control her arousal. She opened them and smiled. "Okay, here's the game plan." She pointed to him and said, "You're going to go home before a wild sex- obsessed spirit takes over my body and does something she shouldn't do." She pointed to herself and said, "And I'm going to go inside and take the coldest shower in the world. Any deviation from this game plan will result in you being severely injured by my high heels."  
  
Luke laughed. "I never knew women were so violent until I met you." He pulled the keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. "Okay, I'm going. I'll call you later."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay."  
  
They stared at each other for a second. Finally, Luke stepped toward her and kissed her. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair as she eagerly kissed him back.  
  
They broke apart and Lorelai quickly turned around and tried to unlock the door. "Oh my God, oh my God," she muttered as she fumbled with the keys. "Ignore the temptation, ignore the temptation." She finally pushed open the door and stepped inside. She let out a sigh of relief as she turned around to face him. "Bye."  
  
Luke gave her an amused smile. "Bye." She smiled and shut the door, and Luke turned around and walked home.  
  
* * *  
  
That night in her bedroom, Lorelai was watching television. When the phone rang slightly after ten, she immediately picked it up. "Oh my God, what took you so long?" she answered.  
  
"Uh, sorry, I didn't know you were expecting me," came the nervous reply.  
  
Lorelai grimaced. "Oh, sorry Dean. Hold on." She cupped her hand over the phone. "Rory, it's for you!" she yelled.  
  
"Okay!" Rory called back. A few seconds later, she called, "Got it!"  
  
Lorelai hung up the phone with a sigh and slumped back against the headboard. A few minutes later, Rory appeared at Lorelai's door. "Mom, call Luke. He called when I was on with Dean."  
  
Lorelai sat up quickly. "Okay. Are you off now?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Yup, it's all yours. I'm going to bed."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay. 'Night hon."  
  
"Night." Rory turned around and walked down the steps.  
  
Lorelai stood up and closed her bedroom door, then turned off the television. She sat back down on the bed, picked up the phone, and dialed Luke's number.  
  
"Hello?" Luke answered.  
  
"Hey," Lorelai said. "How was your night?"  
  
Luke groaned. "The longest night of my life and it's all your fault."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "My fault? How is it my fault?"  
  
"I'll tell you why it's your fault," he replied sternly. "You're the one who came up with this stupid contest idea and then you're the one who had to pick the worst thing in the world for me to do if I lose, making me one hundred percent determined to win the aforementioned stupid contest, and you're the one who had to be all flirty tonight and get me all. . .with the. . .and the. . ." He groaned, then sighed loudly.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "So you're mad because you had a loaded weapon with no opportunity to fire it?"  
  
"Yes," he replied grumpily. "Ugh, I can't wait for this week to be over."  
  
"Me either," Lorelai replied.  
  
"If we both want it to be over, why don't we just call it off?" Luke asked.  
  
"Because. . .it's a contest, we have to play it out," Lorelai said. "We started it, we have to finish it."  
  
Luke groaned. "We started it, we have to finish it," he repeated mockingly. "Yeah, well, just remember that a week from now when you're at my funeral. Cause of death, lack of sex."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "I don't think you can die from that. You think you're gonna make the week?"  
  
"Yes, I am," he replied confidently. "You?"  
  
"Absolutely," she replied.  
  
"What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked.  
  
"I have class in the afternoon, but I'll be at the inn in the morning," Lorelai said.  
  
"Oh, right. Maybe I'll come by and work on the porch railing," Luke said. "I have to get my tools and stuff together. I'm not sure where I put my . . ."  
  
He kept talking, but Lorelai didn't hear what he said. She closed her eyes and just listened to the sound of his voice. After several seconds, she heard him say, "Lorelai? Lorelai?"  
  
She opened her eyes and stammered, "Uh, what . . . yeah. . . sorry, I'm here."  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Did you hear anything I said?"  
  
"Not really," she admitted.  
  
"Oh, great, thanks," he said with a laugh. "Love you, too."  
  
"Luke, have you ever listened to your voice?" she asked, smiling. "It's like the sexiest voice in the world. You should be a late-night DJ for a radio station. You could be all. . ." Lorelai deepened her voice. "And coming up in this next half hour, thirty minutes of commercial free love songs to get you in the mood." Lorelai giggled. "Oh my God, people would tune in just to hear you talk."  
  
Luke laughed. "I'll look into that if this diner thing doesn't work out."  
  
"Good, you should," Lorelai said. "I could sit here all night and listen to you read the phone book."  
  
"Okay, well, the day we run out of conversation topics, that's what we'll do," he said. "All right, I'm gonna go now. I gotta take a shower before bed. Which means in about three minutes, I'm going to be completely naked."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I'm not caving," she said firmly.  
  
"With water cascading all over my body," he continued.  
  
"Not caving," she repeated.  
  
"Now to give you the full visual effect, first I'm going to lather up my strong, muscular chest," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai leaned back against the headboard and closed her eyes, trying to picture it. "Mm, then what?"  
  
"And then I'll probably move onto my arms," Luke replied. "Gotta make sure those biceps are nice and clean."  
  
Lorelai smiled to herself as the image became clearer. "Then what?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Then I'll probably do my stomach," he replied. "And then move down to my lower body."  
  
Lorelai swallowed hard and her breathing started to increase. Several seconds later, she opened her eyes and said, "Oh God, I really have to go."  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Goodnight."  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai walked into the inn and set her things in her office. She walked out to the front desk and grabbed a stack of papers. She turned to Michel. "Are these from this morning?"  
  
He glanced over at them. "Yes, I put them there thirty minutes ago, which was when you said you'd be here, but of course you weren't because you have never shown up on time on a Saturday morning ever."  
  
Lorelai smiled and said, "So they're from this morning, thank you." She flipped through the papers and separated them into piles. She handed a stack to Michel. "Confirm these orders." She glanced around the lobby and tried to look out the back window. "Do you know if Luke's here?"  
  
"I saw him earlier walking around with a toolbox," Michel said.  
  
"Is he still here?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Michel snickered. "What do I look like, his babysitter? How should I know?"  
  
Lorelai made a face at him, then walked into the kitchen and over to the coffee maker. She poured herself a cup, then turned around and walked over to the counter. "Hey Sookie."  
  
Sookie, who was standing at the stove, turned around and smiled. "Hey. What's new?"  
  
"Nothing much," Lorelai replied with a shrug. "Just a normal day of coming to work and trying not to kill Michel, and then going to school and trying not to kill my evil professor who insists on calling me Laura."  
  
Sookie giggled. "Sounds fun." Suddenly her smile faded and she clenched her teeth together. "Ooh, I saw Luke a little while ago. Is he okay?"  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "What do you mean? What's wrong with him?" she asked, concerned.  
  
Sookie shrugged. "He just seemed like he was in a really bad mood."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Aw, I wonder why. He didn't mention anything?"  
  
Sookie shook her head. "Nope, I didn't even talk to him. I saw the look on his face and kept my distance. Is everything okay with you guys?"  
  
"Yeah, everything's great, everything's perfect," Lorelai said. She took a sip of coffee. "I'm gonna go see if he's still here and see what's up. I'll see you later."  
  
"I hope everything's okay," Sookie said sincerely.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Thanks." She turned and headed into the lobby. She walked over to the front desk and set her mug down, then started walking toward the back door to find Luke. However, as she glanced out a window, she saw him walking toward the front of the inn. She turned around and rushed to the front door. She pulled it open just as Luke was reaching for the handle from the other side.  
  
Startled, he jumped back. "Geez," he grumbled.  
  
"Hey, what's the matter?" she asked, grabbing his hand. "Sookie said you're in a bad mood."  
  
Luke set his toolbox down on the porch, then stepped into the lobby. "Are you busy right now? Do you have a few minutes?"  
  
"Yeah, is everything okay?" she asked, concerned. "Luke, what's wrong?"  
  
"Is there somewhere we can talk privately?" he asked, glancing at the people in the lobby.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, come into my office." She led him across the lobby to her office. She pushed open the door and gestured for him to go in first. She followed him inside and locked the door.  
  
She turned around to face him. "Luke, what's up?"  
  
Luke stepped up to her and pressed his lips against hers. Lorelai was surprised, but kissed him back eagerly. When he finally pulled back, he asked, "Hey, can you do me a favor?"  
  
"What?" she asked curiously.  
  
Luke brought his mouth to her ear and whispered, "Take off your clothes."  
  
Lorelai let out a surprised laugh. "What?"  
  
Luke smirked. "There's no way in hell I'm going another week," he said, shaking his head.  
  
Lorelai held up her hands in front of her. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you serious?" she asked.  
  
"Yes," he replied.  
  
"You're caving?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"Yes," he said.  
  
"You're giving up the contest - this is your official resignation from the contest?" she asked with a surprised smile.  
  
"Yes! That's it, it's over, it ends right now," he replied firmly. "Now stop talking."  
  
He leaned in to kiss her. She pulled off his cap and tossed it across the room, then ran her fingers through his hair. He wrapped his arms around her waist and ran his hands up and down her back. He lowered his mouth to her neck and sucked on it lightly, and she moaned softly toward the ceiling. "Luke. . .," she mumbled. "Luke, we can't do this here. Michel's right outside."  
  
He took her hand and pulled her across the room to the opposite wall. He pressed her up against it, then ran his tongue across her neck and up to her ear. "How much time do you have? I won't need much." He took her earlobe in his mouth and sucked on it gently.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, I can tell." She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back slightly. They stared at each other for a moment as Luke's hands slowly moved to the hem of Lorelai's skirt. He clutched the fabric in his fingers and stared at her hopefully, waiting for her reaction. She glanced down at them and swallowed hard, her heart racing with excitement. She closed her eyes briefly, then brought her gaze up to meet his. After a few seconds, she gave him a sly smile.  
  
Luke tilted his head to the side. "You sure?" She bit her lip and nodded quickly.  
  
* * *  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Lorelai shook her head slightly as she smoothed out her skirt. "I can't believe we just did that."  
  
"Think anyone heard us?" Luke asked as he zipped up his jeans.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know." She spun around. "There's nothing on me, right? I don't wanna pull a Lewinsky."  
  
He looked her over. "Nope, you're good." He fastened his belt.  
  
Lorelai picked up his cap and handed it to him. He pulled it on, then put his hands on her waist and pulled her into an embrace. She giggled into his ear. "So this is why you were in a bad mood?"  
  
"Yup," he replied.  
  
"I thought you were gonna make it the whole week, no problem," she said, smiling.  
  
"Yeah, so did I," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "Until I went to sleep last night and you paid me a little visit."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "What?" she asked, confused. Suddenly she smiled. "Ooh, somebody had a little erotic dream, did they?"  
  
"Yes, they did," Luke said. "And let me tell you, I was about to come over your house at six o'clock this morning, that's how bad I was."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Wow, must've been some dream." She kissed him. "You do realize what this means, don't you? You caved first."  
  
Luke sighed loudly and nodded. "I know, I know." He rolled his eyes.  
  
"When are you gonna do it?" she asked excitedly.  
  
He shrugged. "I don't know. Sometime."  
  
"Well, you have to tell me, you know, because it's pretty essential that I'm there too," she said with a laugh.  
  
"Yes, I know," Luke replied. He thought for a moment, then shrugged and said, "Okay, how about the night of your graduation?"  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened and she smiled. "Mm, good present," she said. "Okay, deal. No backing out. We have a verbal agreement."  
  
"Trust me, I know if I don't live up to it, I'll never hear the end of it," Luke grumbled.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Just making sure." She grabbed his hand and led him to the door. They walked out into the lobby, both of them glancing around awkwardly as they walked toward the front door.  
  
As they walked out onto the porch, Luke pulled her into a hug and kissed her neck. "Okay, I'm going to the diner. I already fixed the porch rail."  
  
"You did?" she asked, surprised. "Great, thanks."  
  
"You're welcome," he said. He bent over to pick up his toolbox, then kissed her. "Bye."  
  
"Bye. I'll come by after class," Lorelai said. She perched herself on the porch railing and watched him walk to his truck. She smiled and waved to him as he pulled away, then walked back into the inn.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 27  
  
* * *  
  
A few days later, Lorelai stood in the video store staring at a shelf of videos. Luke walked up behind her and let out an exasperated sigh. "Come on, how long does it take you to pick out a movie?" he grumbled.  
  
"I can't make up my mind," Lorelai whined, turning around to face him. "What did you pick out?"  
  
Luke held up a video. "Raging Bull."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Aha! I know what goes with that. We can have a theme." She walked over to another shelf and picked out a movie, then walked back over to Luke and held it up. "The Burning Bed," she announced, smiling proudly.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "So the theme is wife beating?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I didn't say it was a happy theme," she said, walking toward the front of the store. She stopped at the rack of junk food and grabbed several items, then proceeded to the checkout counter.  
  
After they had paid, they walked outside and headed toward Luke's. "This'll be fun, doing something at your apartment for a change," Lorelai said. "We never hang out there."  
  
"Yeah," he replied, looking away distractedly.  
  
Lorelai followed his gaze to the gazebo. She stopped walking and grabbed his arm, and he turned to look at her. "What are you doing?"  
  
She smiled and turned him around to face the gazebo. "There it is."  
  
He sighed loudly. "Yes, I know."  
  
"It's pretty, isn't it?" she asked, gesturing toward it. "Such a beautiful, wooden, symbolic structure if I've ever seen one. So many important annual town events, all of which you disapprove of, take place in or near that gazebo. It's also a very popular meeting place because of its prime location in the center of town. People say, 'Hey, where do you wanna meet me later?' and often the reply is, 'Oh, how about by the gazebo?'" She paused and folded her arms across her chest. "You know, I'd say it's probably Stars Hollow's greatest landmark."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and turned to face her. "Are you done?"  
  
"No, not quite finished yet," she replied, turning him back around. "Now, I want you to take a good, long look at that gazebo." She paused. "Are you taking a good, long look?"  
  
Luke exhaled loudly. "I'm taking a good, long look," he replied in an annoyed tone.  
  
She smiled. "Good. I like your enthusiasm, by the way." She leaned close to his ear and said quietly, "Now you're honestly going to tell me that you've never, not once in your entire life, glanced at that gazebo and thought to yourself. . . " Lorelai lowered her voice to a whisper. "'Man, I really wanna have sex in there.' You've never, ever thought that?"  
  
Luke's face reddened slightly and he glanced around uncomfortably to make sure no one was around them. He slowly turned around to face her. He pursed his lips and said sternly, "No, I haven't."  
  
"Not once?" Lorelai asked, raising her eyebrows. "This is putting aside the fact that you hate public displays of affection and would probably never follow through on your thoughts, but you've never even thought about what it would be like to just . . .do it. . .in the gazebo? Not even a teeny, tiny minuscule thought about it?" She squeezed her thumb and forefinger together. "Not even this small of a thought?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "Nope."  
  
Lorelai persisted, "Really? You've never just casually walked by and - "  
  
Luke groaned and threw one hand up in frustration. "Okay, maybe I've thought about it!" he said loudly. "Are you happy? Yes, fine, I've thought about it."  
  
Lorelai gasped and a small smile appeared on her lips. "I knew it!"  
  
"But I never would've considered doing it!" he insisted.  
  
"I know that," she said, nodding.  
  
He rolled his eyes and glanced back toward it with a loud sigh. "But yet, one week from tomorrow, that's where I'll be, living out my worst nightmare."  
  
She giggled. "I know that, too."  
  
He groaned loudly and turned back to face her. "Why are you so into this?"  
  
"Because, Luke, it's so completely erotically exciting," she said, rubbing her hands together eagerly. "And we definitely need more excitement in our lives."  
  
"I have plenty of excitement in my life," he mumbled.  
  
"Please," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "The most exciting thing you've done today involved a new shipment of mustard." She turned him around to face the gazebo. "Just close your eyes and picture it, Luke. You and me in the middle of the night. . .everything's quiet around us except for the crickets chirping. . . the gazebo's sparkling with twinkle lights - it'll be so romantic."  
  
He turned around to face her. "Yeah, you're right. You and me, lying on the dirty wooden planks - can't think of anything more romantic than that," he said sarcastically.  
  
"Duh, we'll bring blankets," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Hell, why don't we go all out and drag your single bed out here? We'll try to make it as comfortable as possible for you so you'll think that you're in your apartment and not naked in the middle of the town square."  
  
Luke exhaled loudly and pointed toward the diner. "Okay, this is the very last thing in the world I want to think about right now, so I'm gonna go home and start the movie. Come up when you're done babbling." He walked past her and headed toward the diner.  
  
Lorelai stood for a moment with her hands on her hips, staring at the gazebo. Finally, she turned and followed him, calling, "Maybe we could even hang up your frilly curtains to make it feel more like home!"  
  
* * *  
  
Two nights later, Rory and Lorelai walked into the diner after their weekly Friday night dinner. Luke looked up from the counter as the door opened and immediately noticed the unhappy looks on their faces. Lorelai sat down at a table while Rory walked up to the counter. "Two coffees please," she mumbled.  
  
He placed two empty mugs on the counter. "What's wrong with you two?" he asked, glancing toward Lorelai's table. "Was there a fight at dinner?"  
  
Rory shook her head. "More like, in the car on the way home."  
  
Luke's eyes widened slightly. "So, it's between her and you, not your grandmother?" Rory looked down at the counter and nodded. He turned around and retrieved the coffeepot. "You wanna tell me what happened?"  
  
Rory swallowed hard. "I sorta did something that I shouldn't have done."  
  
"You?" he asked, surprised. "You did something wrong?"  
  
Rory nodded. "You know how the other day Mom said that she didn't want my grandparents at her graduation?"  
  
Luke nodded as he poured the coffee.  
  
"Yeah, well, I really thought that they would wanna come. . .so I sort of invited them. . .tonight at dinner," Rory explained. "Mom was so mad. You should've seen the look she gave me, Luke." She shook her head slightly and sighed. "I'm so stupid," she muttered.  
  
Luke bit his lip as he glanced from Rory to Lorelai. "Uh, so what happened? What did your grandparents say?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "Well, Mom went along with it and pretended that she wanted them there, so they said they would come. I'm not sure if they really want to, or if they just said that. . but, they're coming. And mom's mad at me now." Rory sighed. "I just thought that they should be there. I mean, it's her college graduation, Luke."  
  
Luke nodded. "I agree with you, I think they should be there, too." He glanced at Lorelai, who was resting her elbows on the table and her chin in her palms, staring out the window. "I'm gonna go talk to her. Stay here at the counter," he said to Rory. He leaned into the kitchen and called, "Caesar, come cover the counter, I'm taking a break." He turned back to the counter and picked up one of the mugs, then brought it to Lorelai's table. He placed it in front of her and sat down. "Hey."  
  
She turned to him and gave a small smile. "Hey." She took a sip of coffee, then nodded toward Rory and said, "She told you what happened?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, she did."  
  
Lorelai groaned and shook her head. "Luke, I couldn't believe she did that. I didn't want them to be there, I didn't want to stir everything up all over again, I didn't want them to start thinking about how - "  
  
"It's my fault," Luke interrupted loudly.  
  
Surprised, Lorelai became silent. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Me, it's my fault," he repeated, pointing to himself. "I told Rory to invite your parents. I told her to make sure that they knew about it so they'd be able to come if they wanted to. I didn't think she'd do it right in front of you, though. I thought she'd do it privately. But, yeah, I told her to do it."  
  
Lorelai sat back in her chair. "You did what?" she asked, partly stunned.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry, but don't be mad at her," he said. "She was just doing what I asked her to do. If you wanna be mad at someone then you should be mad at me."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Luke, why would you go behind my back and tell - "  
  
"Because I don't think your parents should miss this," Luke interrupted. "All parents want to see their child graduate, including yours. And they didn't get to see you do it from high school. . . don't you think they'd want to see it from college? They at least deserve the opportunity to decide whether they want to come or not."  
  
Lorelai shook her head toward the table, then looked at him. "I can't believe you did that. That wasn't your decision to make."  
  
"I know it wasn't," he replied. "But it was the right one."  
  
Lorelai pursed her lips and gestured toward Rory at the counter. "So why didn't she tell me it wasn't her idea?"  
  
Luke glanced toward the counter. "Oh, . . . uh, because she probably didn't want you to be mad at me," he replied with a shrug. Lorelai exhaled loudly and stared down at her coffee mug for several seconds. "Are you mad?" he asked. Lorelai didn't look at him; instead, she started fidgeting with her bracelet. Luke sighed. "Okay, I guess so. Sorry."  
  
Lorelai looked up toward the counter and called, "Rory!" Rory turned around and Lorelai waved for her to come over. Rory picked up her mug and walked over to the table. She sat down across from Luke.  
  
"Uh, I told her what happened," Luke said to Rory. "Everything's straightened out."  
  
Rory narrowed her eyes at him. "What?"  
  
"Yeah, you know, I explained how I told you to ask your grandparents to come and that she shouldn't be mad at you for asking them," Luke said, raising his eyebrows and tilting his head slightly. "And how you probably didn't tell her it was my fault because, you know, you didn't want her to be mad at me."  
  
Rory glanced at Lorelai, who shrugged. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get all crazy on you and . . . " Her voice trailed off and she sighed loudly. She patted Rory on the arm. "Sorry."  
  
Rory was silent for a moment as she glanced back and forth between Luke and her mom. She cleared her throat and waved her off. "Oh, no, that's okay," she said quickly. "Don't worry about it. You didn't know." She forced a smile.  
  
Lorelai nodded and stared down at her cup. Luke stood up. "Okay, listen, we'll talk about this some more later, but I gotta get back into the kitchen. Uh, Rory, thanks for trying to cover for me."  
  
Rory looked up at him. "Oh. . . yeah, you're welcome."  
  
Luke put his hand on Lorelai's shoulder. "Uh, I'll call you tonight."  
  
"Fine," Lorelai replied dryly, not looking up at him. Luke walked slowly toward the counter and disappeared into the kitchen.  
  
Rory stared at Lorelai for several seconds. "You're mad at him?" Rory asked hesitantly. When Lorelai didn't respond, Rory sighed. "They accepted the invitation, they want to come, Mom," Rory said. "They want to see you graduate. It all worked out. . . so why are you mad?"  
  
"Uh, I don't know, maybe because you went behind my back and made something happen that I specifically requested not happen," Lorelai said angrily. She exhaled loudly and placed her palms on the table. "Okay, sorry, I know it's not your fault, you were just listening to Luke. Ugh, I can't believe he did that." She took a sip of her coffee, then pushed the cup away from her. "I just wanna go home. Are you ready?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Yeah, I'll pay and meet you outside."  
  
"Thanks," Lorelai said. She stood up and walked out of the diner.  
  
Rory stood up and walked past the counter into the kitchen. She glanced around the noisy room, finally spotting Luke chopping something at the counter. "Luke," Rory called.  
  
Surprised, he looked up quickly. He put his knife down and walked over to her, wiping his hands on a dishtowel. "Yeah?"  
  
"You didn't have anything to do with me asking them to come," Rory said, shaking her head.  
  
Luke nodded. "I know."  
  
"But now she's mad at you for no reason," Rory pointed out. "You know how she holds grudges forever. Why would you voluntarily engage her wrath?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know - you had good intentions, and I just . . . I didn't want her to be mad at you."  
  
Rory sighed. "But I feel bad just letting her think it's your fault when it's not."  
  
"Listen, it's no big deal. I was gonna try to talk her into inviting them anyway, so she probably would've gotten mad at me eventually," he said with a shrug.  
  
Rory exhaled slowly and shrugged. "Well. . . thanks, I owe you one. I'll try to talk to her about it so she's not as mad."  
  
Luke waved her off. "Don't worry about that. I can handle it."  
  
Rory nodded. "Okay, well. . .she's waiting for me outside," she said. "I told her I was paying. Here." She handed Luke some money, then turned around and walked toward the doorway to the diner.  
  
"See you later," Luke said, shoving his hands into his pockets.  
  
Rory suddenly stopped, turned around, and quickly walked back to Luke. Without hesitation, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Luke was surprised, but quickly pulled his hands out of his pockets and hugged her back loosely.  
  
"Thank you," she said, pulling back from the hug.  
  
He cleared his throat and nodded a few times. "You're welcome." She smiled at him and walked out of the kitchen, and Luke walked back to the counter.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Lorelai and Rory were both sitting on the couch reading when the phone rang. Lorelai picked up the cordless phone and checked the built-in caller ID, then replaced the phone on the coffee table. "Don't answer it," Lorelai said, returning to her reading.  
  
"Who is it?" Rory asked.  
  
"Luke," Lorelai replied, not looking up from her book.  
  
Rory narrowed her eyes. "Why aren't you answering it?"  
  
"Because I don't feel like talking to him right now," she replied.  
  
"So answer it and tell him that, don't let him keep calling all night," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai looked at her and pursed her lips. "Well, in order for me to make it known to him that I don't feel like talking to him right now, I'd have to talk to him, and since I just said I don't feel like talking to him, it'd make more sense for me to just not answer it and let him assume that I don't want to talk to him, okay?"  
  
Rory huffed loudly. "Fine, fine, forget it."  
  
The phone rang two more times before the machine picked up. Rory stared at Lorelai, who was biting her lip and staring up at the ceiling as Luke's voice echoed throughout the room. "Hey, it's me. Uh, I'm guessing that you're either out somewhere, or you're already in bed, or you're still mad and avoiding my calls. Either way, I guess I'll talk to you later. Bye." Luke hung up.  
  
"Mom, call him back," Rory urged.  
  
Lorelai sighed loudly. "Rory, please stay out of it," she said sternly.  
  
"But he didn't do anything wrong," Rory persisted.  
  
Lorelai scoffed loudly. "He didn't do anything wrong?" she exclaimed. "Going behind my back and telling my daughter to do something that he *knew* I didn't want you to do is not something wrong? I'm pretty damn sure that if you looked up the phrase 'something wrong' in that stupid eighty pound dictionary that your dad gave you, you'd find that as one of the definitions."  
  
"We were only doing what we thought was best for you," Rory said. "If your parents weren't at your college graduation, you would regret it one day."  
  
"So what?" Lorelai said loudly. "That's for me to worry about - not you, and certainly not Luke!"  
  
"Yes, but - " Rory started.  
  
Lorelai held up her hand and Rory stopped talking. Lorelai took a deep breath. "Rory," she said calmly. "I really need you to drop this right now. This is between me and Luke, not you. God, I don't even wanna go to this stupid graduation anymore," she muttered as she went back to reading her book.  
  
Rory sighed loudly. She tried to concentrate on her book but her mind kept drifting. The words blurred on the page as she thought things over. Finally, she turned her book upside down on her lap and picked up the phone. Lorelai looked up from her book and watched Rory as she dialed a number.  
  
"Luke's," Luke answered.  
  
"Hey Luke," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai gasped loudly. "Oh my God, what are you doing?" she hissed through clenched teeth. "Hang up the phone, Rory."  
  
"Rory, hey," Luke replied, surprised. "Uh, is something wrong?"  
  
"Yes, something's wrong," Rory replied, glancing at Lorelai, who was staring at her angrily. "Mom is completely wigging out about this whole graduation thing and she's really mad at you and she doesn't even wanna go anymore and . . .I have to tell her the truth."  
  
"Rory, don't," Luke replied quickly. "That'll make it even worse."  
  
"What truth?" Lorelai asked in the background.  
  
"No, Luke, it's not fair that she's mad at you when you didn't do anything," Rory said. "I have to tell her."  
  
"Rory, we'll work it out, it's fine," Luke insisted.  
  
"Sorry Luke, I'm gonna tell her right now," Rory said. "I just wanted to let you know that Mom will call you back later tonight. Bye." Rory hung up before Luke could respond. She tossed the phone on the couch and looked over at Lorelai, who had a bewildered expression on her face.  
  
Lorelai folded her arms across her chest. "Rory, what's going on?"  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Lorelai dialed Luke's apartment. After a few rings, a voice answered, "Hello?"  
  
"Jess, is Luke there?" Lorelai asked, aimlessly twirling a finger in her hair.  
  
"Hold on," Jess replied. A few seconds later, Luke came to the phone. "Lorelai?"  
  
"Hey." Lorelai sighed softly. "Rory told me everything."  
  
Luke groaned. "Geez, okay, so you're probably even madder at me now, right? Look, I'm sorry for lying but I just didn't want you to - "  
  
"Luke," Lorelai interrupted. "Forget it. Rory and I talked everything out - it's over, it's done, let's just forget everything."  
  
"So. . .you're gonna go to the ceremony, right?" Luke asked.  
  
"Mmhmm," she replied.  
  
"Good, that's good," Luke replied.  
  
They were both silent for a moment before Lorelai cleared her throat. "Um, it was really nice of you to try to. . . protect her like that," Lorelai said. "I mean, I'm not exactly happy with the whole 'lying to me' part, but the idea of you trying to take the blame for her was just. . . it was really sweet." She paused a second before she added, "It was very dad- like."  
  
"Yeah, well . . .you know," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Very well said."  
  
"Thanks," he replied. "What are you doing tomorrow?"  
  
"Me and Rory are hitting the mall," Lorelai said. "I'm gonna buy a new outfit for the ceremony - unless you think I should be rebellious and go nude under my gown. What do you think?"  
  
Luke laughed. "Well, you might get cold," he pointed out.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Good point. All right, I'll see you tomorrow, then. Love you."  
  
"Yeah, I love you, too," he replied. "Night."  
  
* * *  
  
That Thursday night, Lorelai and Luke were among the first to arrive at the college. They followed the signs to the check-in room, and after she got her cap, Luke watched while she picked out a gown. She held out her purse to him. "Here, can you hold this?"  
  
Luke stared at it for a second, then shook his head. "Uh, no."  
  
She let out a small laugh. "No?"  
  
"I'm not holding a purse. Put it over there," he said, pointing to a row of folding chairs behind her.  
  
She rolled her eyes at him and set the purse on a chair. "Typical man," she muttered. She pulled on a gown and zipped it up. "How do I look?"  
  
He nodded approvingly. "Good. Very. . . uh, smart." She took off the gown and folded it over her arm. Luke glanced at his watch. "This thing doesn't start for over an hour. What are we gonna do?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. Walk around? I can give you a tour." She picked up her purse and walked toward the door. "Ooh, I'll show you the burrito machine, and if we have time later, I was thinking maybe we could try to steal it and install it in my bedroom. Then, when you move in, we'll fill one half with burritos, and the other half with something healthy for you, like. . .I don't know, lettuce or something." Luke rolled his eyes as he followed her down the hall. * * *  
  
An hour later, they returned to the check-in room, which was now filled with people. Lorelai glanced around the crowd and saw Sookie, Jackson, and Rory standing in the corner. Lorelai walked over to them. "Hey guys." She hugged Rory tightly. "Hey you!"  
  
"Hey Mom," Rory said. "Where's your cap and gown?"  
  
Luke held them up as Lorelai handed her purse to Rory. "Here, hold this, please." She took her cap and gown from Luke and pulled them on, then touched up her makeup. Several minutes later, she announced, "Okay, time for some pictures. Rory, camera's in my purse." They took several pictures before an announcement was made for the graduates to line up and for the guests to take their seats in the auditorium.  
  
* * *  
  
After the ceremony, Lorelai made her way around the crowded room until she found Luke. He kissed her on the cheek and hugged her tightly. "I didn't trip!" she said excitedly. "Did you see me not trip?"  
  
He laughed. "Yeah, I saw. We all let out a collective sigh of relief."  
  
She pulled back from him and saw Rory standing right behind him. "Ah, I graduated!" she exclaimed, pulling Rory into a hug.  
  
Rory laughed. "I know, I know! Congratulations!" They hugged for several seconds before Lorelai noticed her parents standing nearby.  
  
Lorelai pulled back from Rory and smiled. "Mom, Dad, I'm glad you guys came."  
  
"Yes, it was lovely," Emily replied. "Congratulations, Lorelai."  
  
"Yes, congratulations," Richard added.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks." She turned to Rory. "Camera?"  
  
Rory pulled it out of Lorelai's purse. "Right here."  
  
"Mom, Dad - would you mind?" Lorelai asked. They glanced at each other and shrugged, and Lorelai stepped between them. Rory took the picture, and Lorelai turned around and smiled at them. "Hey, we're gonna go get some dinner to celebrate. Do you guys wanna come?"  
  
"No, no, we don't want to intrude," Emily replied, waving her off. "You go on ahead."  
  
"Aw, come on, Grandma, it'll be fun," Rory said.  
  
"No, thank you," Emily replied. "But if the graduate has any special requests for dinner tomorrow, call us in the morning and let us know."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Will do."  
  
Emily nodded. "Richard, are you ready?" Richard nodded. "We'll see you tomorrow then. Night everyone." They exchanged goodbyes, and Emily and Richard walked out of the auditorium.  
  
Lorelai hugged Sookie and Jackson. "Thanks for coming, you guys."  
  
Luke put his hand on Lorelai's back. "All right, let's go eat."  
  
"Yeah, I'm starving," Rory said.  
  
"Me too," Lorelai said, rubbing her stomach. "I worked up quite an appetite moving that tassel from one side to the other."  
  
* * *  
  
After dinner, Luke drove Lorelai and Rory home. Rory walked into the house as Luke and Lorelai sat on the bench on the front porch. Luke cleared his throat. "Um, I got you a little graduation present."  
  
She raised her eyebrows and smiled. "The burrito machine?" she asked excitedly.  
  
He laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, no." He pulled a rectangular velvet jewelry box out of his suit jacket and handed it to her.  
  
She smiled at him and opened it up. Her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp. "Oh my God." She pulled out the small diamond solitaire necklace. "Luke, this is . . .wow, this is just . . . beautiful." She shook her head slightly. "You really didn't have to get me something like this."  
  
"I know," he replied. "Do you like it?"  
  
She smiled. "Are you kidding? I love it, but . . .this looks so expensive," she said, staring at it in awe. She fingered the silver chain, then gasped. "Oh my God, that's why I haven't seen Jess around lately - he's not working at the bookstore; you sold him to pay for this, didn't you?"  
  
He smiled and took it from her. "No, I didn't have to. It was free."  
  
She raised her eyebrows. "So, you're telling me you stole this?"  
  
He smiled. "No. Here, lift up your hair." Lorelai obliged and Luke fastened the necklace around her neck.  
  
She released her hair and looked at him expectantly. "So, where'd you get it?"  
  
"Actually, it belonged to my mom," he said.  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "What?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yup. And before my dad died, he gave it to me and told me to keep it somewhere safe, that one day I would find someone special and that I should give it to her." He shrugged. "So I just did."  
  
Lorelai felt a chill run through her body. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away and smiled. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, kissing him deeply. "Thank you," she whispered, bringing her arms up to hug him.  
  
"You're welcome," he said. She leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. Luke stroked her arm as she stared up at the sky.  
  
After a few minutes, she said, "Only a few more hours to go. You ready?"  
  
Luke groaned. "Please, I'm not gonna think about it until five minutes before it happens." He exhaled loudly. "I can't believe we're gonna do this. You do realize that it's illegal, don't you?"  
  
"Only if you get caught," she said with a shrug. "Otherwise, it's just fun."  
  
"Right, real fun," he said sarcastically. "Why couldn't you think of something more. . .private to do?"  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Come on, Luke - a bet's a bet. You agreed to the terms ahead of time, so you can't complain when the time comes for you to carry them out. I wouldn't be complaining like this if you had won," she pointed out.  
  
Luke laughed. "Please, you would be complaining twenty-four hours a day and you know it."  
  
She turned to him and scoffed. "I would not!" she exclaimed. "I would've complied fair and square. It's very rare that I have to actually utilize my graceful losing skills, but I do have some. Plus, your terms weren't that bad," she said. She kissed him and raised her eyebrows suggestively. "If you're nice, I might even just let you do it for fun."  
  
Luke shook his head. "I didn't really want to do it."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I mean, I couldn't think of anything I wanted that could compare with the. . . extremity of your terms, so I just sorta. . .threw that suggestion out there," he said.  
  
Lorelai gave him a sly smile. "So that whole 'tying me to the bed' fantasy. . . you didn't really want to do that?"  
  
Luke laughed. "No! I mean, come on, could you honestly ever picture me doing something like that?"  
  
Lorelai laughed and shook her head. "No, not at all - that's why I was so surprised that you came up with it. I thought you had some weird S&M fetish I didn't know about, or had some secret life like the guy in American Psycho."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Please, this is me we're talking about. You know I'm not into stuff like that. I just . . .couldn't think of anything," he said with a shrug.  
  
Lorelai nodded and asked, "So you wouldn't have made me do it?"  
  
"Nah, just knowing that you had lost would've been good enough payment for me," he said, smiling. "And then I probably would've reminded you of it everyday for a few months."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Such a gracious winner you would be," she said, rolling her eyes. She kissed him, then pulled back and stared at him for a second. Finally she said, "You don't have to do it."  
  
"What?" Luke asked, confused.  
  
"Tonight, the whole gazebo thing, you don't have to do it," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "I mean, I think it's exciting, but I don't want to make you do something that's gonna make you miserable. Just forget about it."  
  
Luke was quiet for a moment, staring at her doubtfully. "Wait, you're serious? I really don't have to . . ." His voice trailed off.  
  
Lorelai smiled and waved him off. "You've definitely suffered enough just worrying about it. That's enough payment for your caving in."  
  
Luke was still uncertain of her motives. "Are you sure? Is that it, or do you want me to do something else instead?" he asked hesitantly.  
  
"Nah, that's it, let's just forget about it," Lorelai said. "You caved first and then you put yourself through two weeks of hell worrying about the circumstances - so I think that's fair enough." She kissed him.  
  
Luke pulled back and let out a sigh of relief. "My God, that makes me feel so much. . ." He paused and narrowed his eyes at her. "Wait - did you plan it like this?"  
  
She looked at him curiously. "What?  
  
"Was it your plan to pretend to be all into it and drive me crazy for two weeks and then call it off at the last minute?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "No, not at all, I really wanted to do it. I still wanna do it," she added with a shrug. "But you don't and I don't wanna make you." He stared at her dubiously, and she smiled. "Really, truly, I didn't plan to drive you crazy. I really wanted to do it," she insisted. "Me and Rory already have a whole separate plan devised to drive you crazy, but it doesn't go into effect until you move in."  
  
He smiled and kissed her. "Okay, good." He put his arm around her and pulled her closer, and she rested her head against his chest.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Luke walked quietly up the steps of Lorelai's porch. He picked up the turtle and removed her spare key, then let himself into the house. He walked slowly up the steps and pushed opened Lorelai's bedroom door.  
  
He stared at her for a moment as she slept peacefully on her side. He sat down next to her and rubbed her back. "Lorelai," he said softly. "Lorelai, wake up."  
  
She groaned and opened her eyes slightly, then craned her neck to look back at him. "Luke?" she said groggily.  
  
"Yeah, come on, get up," Luke whispered.  
  
She turned her body so she was facing him with her eyes half open. "What time is it?"  
  
He glanced at his watch. "It's almost three."  
  
She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, then reached out and pinched his arm. "Ow," he said, pulling his arm back. "What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm trying to see if this is a dream," she muttered, "because that's the only feasible way to explain why the hell you're here at three in the morning."  
  
He pulled the covers off of her. "Come on, we're going to the gazebo."  
  
She raised her eyebrows. "What?"  
  
"You heard me, come on," he said, standing up.  
  
"Luke," she said, shaking her head. "I said you don't have to go through with it."  
  
"I know you did," Luke said. "But a bet's a bet and I lost and I'm following through on it."  
  
"Luke, just forget about it," she said, falling back against the pillow. "I'm not making you do this. Go home."  
  
He leaned over her and said, "Look, you said yourself tonight that you really wanted to do this, right? Okay, well, since this is probably the only time in my life that I'll ever be out of my mind enough to even consider it, this is the only chance you'll ever have to make it happen. Now, you have twenty seconds to get up before I walk out of here and never mention it again."  
  
Lorelai stared up at him and let out a low sigh.  
  
Luke stared at his watch. "Fifteen seconds left," he informed her.  
  
She covered her face with her hands. "Luke, are you sure you - "  
  
"Ten seconds," he interrupted.  
  
Lorelai removed her hands from her face and rested them on her stomach.  
  
"Five seconds," he said, tapping his watch. "Uh oh, time's running - "  
  
Lorelai sat up quickly. "I'm up, I'm up!" A smile slowly formed on her lips. "Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 28  
  
* * *  
  
Lorelai glanced down at the tank top and sweat pants that she had been sleeping in. "Should I change first?" she whispered.  
  
"No, you're just gonna take 'em off anyway," he pointed out. "Just grab some shoes." He walked over to the door and leaned against the frame with his hands shoved in his pockets.  
  
Lorelai walked over to her closet and grabbed a pair of sneakers, then sat on the edge of the bed and pulled them on. She glanced at Luke. "You look worried," she said with a smile.  
  
Luke shrugged and shifted his feet. "I'm fine."  
  
She stood up and walked over to him. "You know, you don't have to do this," she reminded him.  
  
Luke nodded. "I know. You ready?"  
  
"Let me just use the bathroom first," she replied. "I'll meet you downstairs."  
  
He wrinkled his nose. "Maybe you can try to get rid of that morning breath."  
  
She laughed, then covered her mouth with her hand. "Hey, this is just my 'middle of the night' breath. My morning breath's much worse." She walked into the bathroom as Luke walked downstairs.  
  
Lorelai walked down a few minutes later and found Luke waiting by the front door. She kissed him, then pulled back and asked, "How's that?"  
  
He smiled. "Much better." He pulled open the door and walked out onto the porch. She followed him, quietly pulling the door closed behind her. As they walked across the front yard, Lorelai suddenly stopped walking. "Wait, wait, wait. What about blankets?"  
  
Luke continued walking. "It's taken care of. Come on." She walked quickly to catch up to him and grabbed onto his hand. As they neared the town square, Luke said, "All right, we need to talk about a game plan."  
  
Lorelai let out a small laugh. "A game plan?"  
  
"Yes, a game plan," he said seriously.  
  
"What, like, we're doing some sort of invasion and we need to have a strategy?" she asked with a laugh. "Did you draw a diagram of the gazebo with pictures of little naked people that show us where we're supposed to lie down? Ooh, do you have an itinerary all planned out of what time we should do each thing?" she asked, smiling. "Like, 3:15, remove shirt, 3:16, squeeze the right breast - stuff like that?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Will you get serious? I mean, it's loud enough when your voice echoes throughout a bedroom, but now it'll be echoing throughout the. . .entire. . .town. . .square." He enunciated the words slowly.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Okay. . . I . . . understand," she replied, mocking his tone. "Geez, you think I don't realize that we're outside, that I'm gonna be screaming at the top of my lungs or something? I know how to control myself."  
  
"Yeah, but sometimes you. . ." His voice trailed off as the gazebo came into sight. "Okay, shh, let's keep it down."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Aw, it looks so pretty at night," she whispered. She linked her arm through his as they approached the gazebo, which was sparkling in twinkle lights. They stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked at each other. "You ready?" Lorelai asked, smiling.  
  
Luke nodded. He took her hand and led her up the steps into the gazebo. Lorelai saw a couple of blankets on one of the benches. Luke reached for one and spread it on the ground, and Lorelai spread the other one on top of it.  
  
Luke glanced around at the town surrounding him. When he was thoroughly satisfied that no one was around, he exhaled slowly and said, "So, uh, should we just. . ." He gestured to the blankets on the floor.  
  
Lorelai quickly nodded and smiled. "Yeah, let's get to it." She took off her sneakers as Luke did the same. They stepped toward each other, meeting in the center of the blanket.  
  
Luke brought his hands up to her face and guided her lips to his. Their mouths immediately opened and a light groan escaped Lorelai's throat as their tongues began gently swirling over each other. As they kissed, Luke slid his hands from her face all the way down to the small of her back, and he pulled her closer against his body. His hands slowly headed down past her waist and stopped on the firmly rounded curves just below it. Lorelai's hands were just as active as she slid them up under his t-shirt and ran them over his back.  
  
As their lips finally separated, Lorelai glanced down at his hands, then smiled at him. "Aw, this is the first time you've ever squeezed my butt in public - should we write that down somewhere?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Lorelai?"  
  
"What?" she replied.  
  
He brought his lips close to hers and whispered, "Be quiet." He kissed her, and Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck and eagerly kissed him back as they slowly lowered themselves onto the blankets.  
  
* * *  
  
Almost thirty minutes later, Luke collapsed on top of her, and Lorelai brought her arms up around him. As they both panted heavily to catch their breaths, Luke slowly lifted his head to look at her.  
  
Lorelai smiled up at him and ran her hand through his tasseled hair. She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled his face close to hers. "That was incredible," she whispered. He nodded in agreement and rolled off of her onto his back. She reached down and grabbed his hand, then shook her head slightly. "Wow." She turned to him and smiled. "You were soooo into that."  
  
Luke shrugged and gave a sly smile.  
  
Lorelai let out a small laugh. "I thought it was gonna be a quick 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am' sorta thing so you could get outta here as fast as possible - but . . . wow." She shook her head. "It wasn't."  
  
Luke shrugged and cleared his throat. "Yeah, well. . . if you're gonna do something illegal, you might as well go all out."  
  
Lorelai laughed quietly. "Good point." She turned onto her side and ran a hand over his chest. "Thanks for doing it even though you didn't have to."  
  
Luke nodded. "And don't mention this to anyone, I mean it," he said sternly. "Not even Sookie."  
  
Lorelai grimaced and clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oops."  
  
Luke's eyes widened and he sat up quickly. "You already told Sookie about it?"  
  
Lorelai lay back down on the blanket and giggled. "Man, I'm so good at getting you to freak out."  
  
Luke huffed loudly. "You know, one of these days you're gonna do something like that and I'm gonna have a heart attack, and then you'll have to live with knowing that you're the one who killed me."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes as she pulled him on top of her. She kissed him deeply as her hands roamed his body. Luke broke the kiss and sat up with a yawn. "Let's go, I'm about to fall asleep." He reached for his boxers and pulled them on.  
  
Lorelai sat up and gathered her clothes. She dressed quickly and pulled on her shoes, then sat on the bench and watched Luke finish dressing. She yawned loudly, then said, "Don't forget your hat." She pointed to it on the ground.  
  
He walked over and picked it up, then picked up her hair clip and walked it over to her. She pulled her hair back and clipped it up, then patted the bench next to her. Luke looked at it questioningly. "What are you doing? Let's just go home."  
  
"Sit down," she said, patting it again. "Just for a few minutes."  
  
Luke yawned as he sat next to her. She leaned against him and he put his arm around her. As his hand rested on her arm, he felt how cold she was in her tank top. He reached down and picked up one of the blankets and pulled it over her. "Here."  
  
She pulled her knees up to her chest and adjusted the blanket over her body. "Thanks." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Let's just sit here for a few minutes," she muttered, leaning her head on his shoulder.  
  
Luke checked his watch. "It's almost four," he pointed out.  
  
"Just a few minutes," she repeated, her eyes still closed. She snuggled up against him.  
  
Luke sighed. He glanced around for a few seconds, then rested his chin on her head. "Just a few minutes," he mumbled as he closed his eyes.  
  
* * *  
  
Luke opened his eyes and squinted into the brightness, and it took him a second to realize where he was. He glanced around the town square and saw a few people already walking on the sidewalk. His eyes widened and he checked his watch, then tapped Lorelai repeatedly on the shoulder. "Lorelai, get up! It's after six!" Lorelai responded with an annoyed groan. He shook her shoulder and repeated, "Lorelai, it's after six, get up!"  
  
Lorelai sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Jesus, what's the prob - " She glanced around and saw people looking at them as they walked by. She slowly turned to Luke with wide eyes. "Oh my God." She slapped his arm. "You let us fall asleep! You were supposed to stay awake!"  
  
Luke scoffed. "Me? This is not my fault! I was the one that was ready to go two hours ago!"  
  
Lorelai glanced around. "All right, there aren't too many people up yet. We can leave now and no one will know why we were here." She glanced down at her outfit. "Thank God I wore normal clothes to sleep and not my real pajamas."  
  
"I should've known it would turn out like this," he muttered, glancing around. His eyes widened and he lowered his voice. "Great, Patty's standing in front of the studio. Dammit, she's the last person we need finding out about this!" He thought for a moment. "All right, if she asks, we'll tell her that we got up early this morning and went for a walk, then fell asleep on the bench."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "What? Everyone in this town knows I hate physical activity. They'll never believe that I got up early to walk."  
  
"Yeah, well, make it sound believable," he replied, "because it's all we got." He glanced down at the blankets, then picked them up and shoved them behind the bench. "Pretend they're not ours."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and stood up. "Come on, let's go already." She glanced toward the dance studio, and saw Patty in the doorway looking at them. "Okay, Patty has her gossip antenna up," she said quietly. "We may need to invoke phase one of the highly implausible 'we were taking a stroll' strategy."  
  
They walked down the gazebo steps, and Luke started walking toward the diner as Lorelai headed toward her house. When she noticed he wasn't following her, she stopped walking and turned around. "Where are you going?" she called, walking back toward him.  
  
Luke turned around and gestured toward the diner. "To open up."  
  
"I have to walk home by myself?" Lorelai asked, surprised.  
  
"Uh, yeah," Luke replied, narrowing his eyes. "So?"  
  
Lorelai frowned. "You're not even gonna walk me home?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Hey, I was ready to walk you home two hours ago before your stupid 'let's just sit for a few minutes' idea," he reminded her. "But right now, I have other things to do." Lorelai folded her arms across her chest and pouted. Luke quickly turned his head away and started walking toward the diner. "You're not getting me with that stupid pout this time," he called, waving her off. "Go home."  
  
Lorelai smiled to herself and turned around, almost bumping into Miss Patty. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lorelai exclaimed, stepping back. "Sorry, Patty. I didn't see you there."  
  
"Oh, that's okay, dear," she replied. She glanced past her toward Luke. "What are you two doing up so early?"  
  
"Oh, uh, we were just, you know, taking an early morning stroll," Lorelai said, nodding. "Yup, that's right. You know, last night was my graduation and I decided that the very first thing I'd like to do on my very first complete day as a graduate was to take an early morning stroll. You know, to . . . be, uh, a little more active as I. . . make my way in the world. . .yeah. . ." Her voice trailed off and she glanced down at the ground. "Boy, those are great shoes. Are those new?"  
  
Patty stared at her curiously. "Well, first, congratulations on your graduation."  
  
"Thank you." Lorelai smiled.  
  
"Second, no, I've had these for two years, but thanks for noticing," Patty said, glancing down at her shoes.  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Um, and the third?"  
  
"The third is that I've known you for over a decade and you've never taken an early morning stroll ever," Patty said, shaking her head. "In fact, I believe I've heard you go on several rants about why people who take early morning strolls should be ashamed of themselves. Something about how if God wanted us to walk in the morning, he wouldn't have given us comfy beds with warm blankets. Is that right? I can't remember the exact words." She clasped her hands in front of her and gave Lorelai a suspicious smirk. "You're hiding something."  
  
Lorelai glanced at her bare wrist and said, "Oh, look at the time. I better get home and get ready for work." She started walking quickly down the sidewalk.  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, Lorelai and Rory were walking toward the diner. Lorelai reached up and felt for her necklace. "Geez, I keep worrying that I'm gonna lose it."  
  
"I can't believe he trusts you with it," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Excuse me, I'm very responsible, thank you. I've kept you alive for this long, I think I can take care of an inanimate necklace - which, by the way, goes great with these earrings," she said, turning her head to the side. "Doesn't it?"  
  
Rory nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it almost looks like they came together."  
  
They reached the diner and Lorelai pulled open the door. As they stepped inside, they saw Miss Patty talking to Luke at the counter. Seeing the annoyed look on his face, Lorelai groaned. "Hon, can you go get us a table? I'll be right there," she said to Rory.  
  
"Uh, sure, yeah," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai walked over to the counter. "Hey, what's going on?" she asked.  
  
Luke nodded toward Patty. "She doesn't believe me when I say that there's nothing strange about us taking a walk."  
  
"I know you're hiding something," Patty said.  
  
Luke sighed. "For the last time, we're not hiding anything, okay? Jesus."  
  
"Oh, I've done my research, and I can bring in several witnesses who spotted the two of you asleep on the gazebo bench early this morning," Patty said.  
  
"Okay, first, it's not a trial, so I don't think witness testimony will be required," Lorelai said. "And second, what does that prove?"  
  
Patty shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm sure some further research will piece it all together. Don't worry, you two, I'll figure it out eventually and you won't have to hide whatever it is you're hiding."  
  
Lorelai sighed loudly. She shrugged and glanced at Luke. "Luke, we should just tell her."  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "What? Absolutely not!"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "She's gonna find out eventually." She turned to Patty. "You're right, we're hiding something."  
  
Luke leaned forward on the counter. "What the hell are you doing? Do not do this, Lorelai," he said sternly.  
  
Patty rubbed her hands together and grinned. "I knew it, what is it?"  
  
"Well, Luke and Jess are gonna be moving in with me and Rory soon." Lorelai glanced at Luke, whose face softened as he let out the breath he had been holding.  
  
Patty gasped and squealed excitedly. "I knew it, I knew this would happen eventually!"  
  
Lorelai smiled and lowered her voice, "Yeah, so we got up early this morning to talk about how we're gonna bring it up with Rory, because we're not sure how she's gonna react. . .you know, to a new living situation."  
  
Patty nodded knowingly. "Oh, I understand."  
  
"Yeah, so it'd be great if you could just keep this info out of the gossip mill until tomorrow, okay?" Lorelai asked. "We don't want her to hear it from someone else first."  
  
Patty nodded. "Oh, of course, dear."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks." She turned to Luke. "Uh, two coffees and two orders of pancakes."  
  
"Coming right up," he replied, giving her an impressed smile.  
  
Lorelai smiled and turned to Patty. "Bye Patty." She walked over to Rory's table and sat down with a loud sigh. "Okay, here's the deal - we just told Patty about Luke and Jess moving in, and you have to pretend that you didn't know about it before today."  
  
"Okay, got it," Rory replied. "Are you gonna tell me what's going on?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "There's nothing to tell. Luke and I went for a walk this morning, and because Patty has never seen me walk in the morning before, she automatically thinks we're hiding something, so I had to tell her some gossip so she'd leave us alone."  
  
Rory nodded. "Got it." She paused and narrowed her eyes. "You went for a walk?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yes, new subject please."  
  
Rory glanced over at the counter. "Did you order? I'm starved."  
  
"Yup, pancakes," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Ooh, good," Rory replied.  
  
* * *  
  
When they had finished eating, Rory left for the bus stop and Lorelai walked up to the counter to pay. She handed the money to Luke, then yawned and said, "I'm not gonna make it a whole day without falling asleep."  
  
Luke shook his head. "Me either."  
  
"I think I'm gonna try to get out of work early," Lorelai said. "I'll probably be home after three if you wanna come over and hang out. We can watch tv or something before me and Rory go to dinner."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Maybe. I'll see how it is around here."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay." She leaned across the counter and kissed him, then smiled through the kiss. "Bye."  
  
"Bye," he replied.  
  
* * *  
  
That afternoon, Lorelai and Rory sat on the living room sofa watching tv, surrounded by bags of junk food. Lorelai shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth, then groaned at the television. "I hate when she does that."  
  
Rory nodded. "I know, Mom, I know."  
  
"She's so. . . .ugh. . ." Lorelai made a face and shook her head in disgust.  
  
"Mom, he's cute, people are gonna flirt with him," Rory pointed out. "You just have to deal with it."  
  
Lorelai pouted. "But he's my pretend boyfriend, not hers."  
  
"I know," Rory replied sympathetically.  
  
"She's so incredibly dense," Lorelai said. "Can she not see that she's just annoying the hell out of him? Ugh!"  
  
Rory sighed. "Mom, would you like me to write to the show and personally ask Hildi to stop flirting with Ty?"  
  
Lorelai nodded sadly. "Yes, thank you."  
  
"I'll get right on it," Rory said as the doorbell rang.  
  
"Come in!" Lorelai yelled. The front door opened and soon Luke entered the living room. Lorelai smiled up at him. "Hey."  
  
"Hey Luke," Rory said.  
  
"Hey," he replied. He glanced down at the junk food and made a face. "What the hell is this? It looks like a vending machine exploded."  
  
Lorelai smiled and pushed some of the bags aside. She patted the cushion and he sat down next to her.  
  
"Maybe we should put this stuff away," Rory suggested. "We have to leave for dinner soon." Rory gathered up the bags and carried them into the kitchen.  
  
Lorelai picked up the remote and changed the channel. Her eyes widened and she yelled, "Ah! Rory, hurry up!"  
  
Luke pulled his head away from her. "Jesus, that's my ear!"  
  
Rory rushed into the living room. "What, what is it?"  
  
Lorelai pointed to the television. "Look what's on!"  
  
Rory looked at the tv as she sat back down on the couch. She clapped excitedly. "Oh, yesss!"  
  
Luke looked at the screen and rolled his eyes. "What the hell is this. . .you're excited about a stupid cartoon?"  
  
Lorelai and Rory both gasped loudly. Lorelai shook her head disappointingly. "Luke, this is not a stupid cartoon. This is a cartoon for which all other future cartoons should be measured against." She gestured dramatically to the television. "This. . . is Spongebob Squarepants."  
  
Luke stared at her in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me," he said, rolling his eyes. He turned to Rory. "Okay, I can understand it coming from her because she's crazy - but you, too?"  
  
Rory smiled and nodded. "She got me hooked on it, Luke. It's hilarious. Even you'll find some of it funny, I promise you."  
  
Lorelai grabbed his chin and turned him to face her. "Luke, come on, just watch it for five minutes and if you really hate it, then we'll change it."  
  
Luke sighed. "Five minutes."  
  
"I guarantee that you'll like it," Lorelai said, smiling. "Even if you're too manly to openly laugh at it, you'll definitely be giggling on the inside."  
  
He folded his arms across his chest. "I don't giggle," he replied dryly.  
  
* * *  
  
As the show ended, Lorelai and Rory both turned to Luke, who had a small smile on his face. Lorelai and Rory smiled at each other. "I think we've got a newly converted Spongebob fan," Lorelai said.  
  
"I think so, too," Rory agreed.  
  
Luke laughed and shrugged. "Okay, so you were right, some of it was funny. Stupid, but funny." He stood up and stretched his legs. "You guys want a drink?" he asked, walking toward the kitchen.  
  
"No, thanks, I'm good," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai stood up and followed him. "Do you wanna come with us to dinner? My parents probably won't mind."  
  
He reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. "Nah, I have to get back to the diner for the dinner rush."  
  
Lorelai nodded and leaned against the counter. Luke walked over and stood in front of her. He ran a finger along her necklace chain, then fingered the diamond. "It looks good on you."  
  
Lorelai reached up and touched it. "Thanks," she replied, smiling. She took his hand and led him out the back door. They walked along the porch toward the front of the house and sat on the bench. Luke took a sip of water, then offered the bottle to Lorelai. She took a sip and handed it back to him. "Thanks." She leaned back against the bench and stared straight ahead for a moment. "Luke, why'd you do it?"  
  
"Do what?" he asked, confused.  
  
"Last night, the gazebo - why'd you do it if you didn't want to and you didn't have to?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke shrugged. "Because I . . ." He exhaled slowly. "I don't know. There was this annoying little voice in my head saying that I don't ever do anything fun or exciting."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "*My* annoying little voice?"  
  
"It sounded remarkably similar to yours, yeah," Luke replied, smiling. "And. . . I don't know - you really wanted to do it, and I didn't think anyone would be up anyway, so, I just. . . I don't know . . .tried it. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "So does that mean - "  
  
"No," he interrupted. "It doesn't mean we can do it again."  
  
Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "Okay, okay, sorry." She leaned against him, slipping one arm behind his back and draping the other across his stomach. "Thank you."  
  
Luke kissed her. "You're welcome."  
  
* * * 


	6. Parts 29 to 33

"It's Right There - parts 29 - 33"  
  
* * *  
  
PART 29  
  
* * *  
  
That night after dinner, Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner. The only other customer was standing at the counter, waiting for Luke to hand him his change. As the customer walked past them out the door, Lorelai and Rory smiled knowingly at each other and walked over to Luke.  
  
Lorelai leaned across the counter and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey." She sat down on a stool and Rory sat next to her.  
  
Luke smiled. "What's up? How was dinner?" He set two empty mugs in front of them.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Good, it was good." She turned to Rory. "Wouldn't you say it was good, hon?"  
  
"It was good," Rory agreed.  
  
Lorelai glanced around the empty diner. "Where's Jess? Is he at work?"  
  
"Nah, he's upstairs," Luke replied. "Why?" He turned around and grabbed the coffeepot.  
  
"Go get him," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yeah, get him down here right away," Rory added.  
  
Luke looked at them warily as he poured their coffee. "What's this about? What did he do?"  
  
"We need to talk to him about something important," Lorelai said seriously. "Go get him."  
  
Luke set the pot back on the coffee maker, then folded his arms across his chest. "No, not until you tell me what this is about," he replied sternly.  
  
Both girls sipped their coffee and stared at him silently.  
  
Luke dropped his arms and shrugged. "You're not gonna tell me, are you?"  
  
"Nope," Rory replied, shaking her head.  
  
Luke sighed. "Fine," he grumbled, walking toward the staircase.  
  
As he walked upstairs, Lorelai and Rory looked at each other and giggled. They both stood up quickly. "I'll lock the door and clear the counter," Rory said.  
  
"And I'll go get the supplies," Lorelai said, walking around the counter into the kitchen.  
  
Luke came down a minute later with Jess reluctantly following behind him. "Now what is so damn import - " Luke started. His eyes fell upon the completely empty counter, and he looked at Rory questioningly. "What are you doing?"  
  
Lorelai walked out of the kitchen announcing, "I could only find those frozen mini bagel things, but I think they might - " She saw Luke and Jess and smiled at them. "Oh, hey. Ready for bagel hockey?" she asked, waving the frozen bagel in the air.  
  
They looked at each other and groaned. "This is what was so important?" Luke asked, rolling his eyes. "Bagel hockey?"  
  
"I'm going back upstairs," Jess said, turning around.  
  
Lorelai hurried over to him and grabbed his sleeve. "No, no, no, please! We need another person. Come on, it'll be fun."  
  
"Yeah, trust me," Rory said, smiling. "You can be on my Mom's team. Luke, come over here with me. Mom, do you have the wooden spoons?"  
  
Lorelai held them up. "Got 'em." She handed two to Luke and pushed him toward the other end of the counter. "Here, go over to Rory's side, she'll tell you how to play. We have to plan our strategy," she said, gesturing to Jess.  
  
Jess took a step back. "Hey, I never said I was playing this stupid game."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "It's not stupid and you're playing. I think you can give your eyes a little break from reading to play with us. And plus, if you go back upstairs, we'll just follow you and bang on the door until you come down."  
  
Jess rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, we'll play up to ten, that's it," he said, grabbing one of the wooden spoons. "What do we do?"  
  
She glanced over at Rory and Luke, who were talking quietly. Lorelai lowered her voice. "Okay, the purpose of the game is to use your spoon to hit the bagel between the other team's salt and pepper shakers."  
  
"So it's just like regular hockey?" Jess asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, is that how regular hockey is?"  
  
Jess rolled his eyes and nodded. "Uh, yeah, pretty much."  
  
"Okay then, yes, it's like regular hockey. Now, I think Luke's gonna be goalie first, so that leaves Rory as the forward and she's pretty good. You know, she gets that from me," Lorelai added. "So listen, I'll go up against her while you stay in goal, but you have to watch out for her fakes. Sometimes she'll pretend that she hurt her thumb and try to get the other team to act all concerned and then try to sneak it past the goalie. She got that from me, also," Lorelai said, smiling and nodding.  
  
Jess rolled his eyes. "You must be very proud." He shrugged. "Can we just play?"  
  
Lorelai walked toward the center of the counter and set a bagel down. "Are you ready? Let's go," she said, slapping her hands on the counter.  
  
They both turned around and nodded. "We're ready," Rory said, walking toward the center of the counter. She turned back to Luke and wagged a finger at him. "And no letting her score just because she's your girlfriend."  
  
Luke smiled. "I won't."  
  
"Hello, I don't need him to let me score," Lorelai scoffed. "Have you forgotten how incredibly good I am?"  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "Nice humility you have there."  
  
* * *  
  
Almost forty-five minutes later, with the score tied nine to nine, Rory and Luke switched places so that Rory was goalie.  
  
"Here, let me be forward again," Jess said to Lorelai. "You be goalie."  
  
Lorelai reluctantly agreed. "Okay, but remember, Luke cheats."  
  
Luke laughed. "Right - you're the one who cheats with your annoying distractions. Does 'Luke, I think your kitchen's on fire - really, I mean it, I'm not lying!' ring a bell?"  
  
"No idea what you're talking about." Lorelai smiled at him as she switched places with Jess. She drummed her wooden spoon on the counter loudly. "Okay, go!"  
  
Luke and Jess battled it out with their spoons in the center of the counter for several seconds before Luke finally pushed the bagel around Jess' spoon and headed toward Lorelai. "Jess, stop him!" Lorelai urged.  
  
Luke swung his spoon like a golf club and sent the bagel flying toward the goal. Lorelai ducked as it came toward her head. "Agh, geez!" It flew over her and landed on the floor behind her.  
  
"Goal," Luke said. "That's ten, we win."  
  
"Yes!" Rory said.  
  
Lorelai stood up quickly. "That doesn't count!" she said, shaking her head.  
  
"No way, that totally counts, it was between the goal posts," Rory insisted.  
  
"Why the heck did you duck?" Jess asked with a laugh. "It's just a bagel, and it's not even frozen anymore - it's all soft and mushy."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Yes, well, when it's flinging at your head, it's a lot scarier than it looks." She dropped her spoon on the counter and frowned. "Luke, I can't believe you carelessly tried to embed a bagel in this pretty little face," she said, running her hands over her cheeks.  
  
Luke smiled and shrugged. "Sorry, had to do it for the sake of the team. You know how it is."  
  
Rory smiled. "He's quite a team player," she said, patting him on the back.  
  
Lorelai walked over to a table and sat down. "Okay, well, winners buy the losers a snack. I'll take some pie."  
  
Luke smiled. "And if you had won?"  
  
"Then the losers would buy the winners a snack," Lorelai said. "Either way, it would end with me eating some free pie."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and walked over to get her a piece. "Rory, you too?"  
  
"Yes, please," she said, walking over to sit with Lorelai.  
  
"All right, this was. . . interesting, but I've got things to do," Jess said, gesturing toward the stairway.  
  
"Thanks for playing," Lorelai said. "You might wanna be more aggressive next time."  
  
"Yeah, I'll work on that," he replied. He walked past the counter and went upstairs.  
  
Lorelai smiled at Rory. "That was fun."  
  
"Yeah, it's always fun watching you lose," Rory said, smiling.  
  
Lorelai playfully smacked her on the shoulder. "Hey, do not take comfort in your mother's unhappiness," she warned.  
  
Luke brought them their pie and sat down with them.  
  
"What, we're supposed to eat this without coffee?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke sighed loudly and stood up.  
  
Lorelai smiled up at him. "Thank you."  
  
He walked over to the counter and returned with their coffee.  
  
"Thanks, Luke," Rory said, taking a sip. "You know, I think Jess had fun."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, I think he did, too."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "How could he not have? Bagel hockey is the happiest game on earth."  
  
"Much like Disneyworld," Rory added.  
  
"Exactly," Lorelai said, shoving a piece of pie in her mouth. She finished chewing and said, "How's he doing with work?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Good. I talked to Andrew tonight about it, actually. He said he had doubts about hiring him, but that he's been doing fine."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Good." She turned to Rory. "Rory, how many days?"  
  
Rory thought for a moment. "Um, four weeks from today." She smiled. "Wow, it's coming up soon."  
  
Lorelai smiled at Luke. "Twenty-eight days."  
  
"Yeah, so that only gives you twenty-eight days to make room for us," Luke pointed out. "You better get started. Knowing you, it'll take that long just to do the bathroom."  
  
Lorelai ate the last piece of her pie and pushed the plate away. She leaned back in her chair. "Maybe you could just put your stuff on top of my stuff, and that way no physical act of cleaning would have to be done."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't think so."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, I hate cleaning."  
  
"This is true," Rory added. "One time I gave her a choice of drinking a concoction of milk, Coke, and pickle juice, or cleaning the living room, and she drank the whole glass in like five seconds."  
  
Lorelai smiled proudly. "Tasted pretty gross, but I did it."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Geez."  
  
"But she does like washing dishes," Rory said, "so at least she does something."  
  
"Since when you guys even use dishes?" Luke asked. "You always eat out."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "See, that's why I like washing dishes. It only has to be done like three times a month."  
  
Luke nodded knowingly. "So it's the 'cleaning on an everyday basis' part that you don't like."  
  
"Right," she replied. "And since I've seen your apartment and it's even more cluttered than ours, I think when you move in we might finally have a chance at winning the Stars Hollow Messiest House Contest."  
  
"There is no Stars Hollow Messiest House Contest," Luke informed her.  
  
"Yeah, well, now that we know we'd win, we should get Taylor to invent one," Lorelai said. "Don't you think? Oh my God, and the prize could be something like maid service for a whole year!" she said excitedly.  
  
Luke and Rory looked at each other. "She's your mother," Luke reminded her.  
  
"Not by choice. However, you chose her to be your girlfriend," Rory pointed out. "So that means you voluntarily endure her insanity, whereas I'm forced to."  
  
Luke sighed. "I know, I know." He shook his head disappointingly.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Hi, I'm not Helen Keller - I can hear you talking about me."  
  
Rory put her fork down on her plate. "I'm done, Helen. You ready to go?"  
  
"Yup." Lorelai took one last sip of coffee and stood up.  
  
Luke stood up and kissed her. "I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Rory, good game."  
  
Rory smiled. "Yup. Bye."  
  
"Good game, blah blah blah," Lorelai mocked. "You win one time and you think you're champions of the world." She made a face.  
  
Rory laughed. She grabbed Lorelai's hand and pulled her toward the door. "Come on, sore loser."  
  
* * *  
  
A few nights later, Lorelai and Rory sat on the couch watching television. Lorelai turned to Rory. "I dare you to find one person on television. . . wait, no - I'm starting over. I dare you to find one person in this entire universe that is more annoying than Carrot Top. I bet you can't do it."  
  
Rory laughed. "I'm not taking that bet. If I have to see one more Call ATT commercial, I will seriously consider duck taping myself to some train tracks."  
  
"Ugh, same here," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "I just don't get it - I mean, do they really think that people will see that obnoxious man and say, 'Oh, I wanna be just like him, I should use this service' - hello!" Lorelai slapped herself on the forehead. "You're supposed to make people enjoy your commercials, not annoy the hell out of them to the point where they consider giving up television just so they won't have to see them anymore!"  
  
Rory let out a small laugh. "Are you okay?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Yeah, why?"  
  
"You seem. . . cranky about something," Rory said.  
  
"Nope, I'm fine," Lorelai said.  
  
"Just a personal vendetta against Carrot Top?" Rory asked.  
  
"Yup, and I'm getting a little tired of ALF, too," Lorelai said. "You know, my television viewing would be a lot more enjoyable if we could just eliminate all those stupid phone commercials altogether."  
  
Rory gasped. "Even Alyssa Milano's?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yes, she's no sweet and innocent Samantha Micelli anymore, let me tell you."  
  
"No, she's not," Rory agreed.  
  
They watched tv for a few minutes before Lorelai admitted, "Okay, I'm a little cranky about something."  
  
Rory looked at her. "Do you wanna talk about it?"  
  
"Luke and I are kinda fighting," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory's eyes widened. "Really? What did you do?"  
  
Lorelai snickered. "Why do you assume I did something?"  
  
Rory tilted her head and smirked. "What did you do?"  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I was bugging him," she mumbled.  
  
Rory narrowed her eyes. "So? You always bug him."  
  
"I know, but this time it was different," Lorelai said. "See, I stopped in the diner after work to see him and he wasn't there, so I walked out of the diner to come home, and he was walking down the sidewalk toward the diner, so I waited for him and asked him where he was." Lorelai paused.  
  
Rory stared at her expectantly. "And. . . where was he?"  
  
"Well, he just shrugged and said 'nowhere,' so, of course, I persistently annoyed him with questions," Lorelai said.  
  
"Of course," Rory said knowingly. "So did you get it out of him?"  
  
Lorelai shook his head. "He wouldn't say, so after another minute of me bugging him he just sighed really loud and said he didn't want to talk about it and went inside."  
  
Rory grimaced. "Ooh, did he yell?"  
  
"No, but I could tell he was mad," Lorelai said with a sigh. "What should I do?"  
  
"You should. . . call him and apologize for being annoying?" Rory suggested.  
  
Lorelai bit her lip. "I was sorta waiting for him to call me so that way I'd know he wasn't too mad."  
  
"Well, maybe he's waiting for you to call him because he thinks you're mad at him for not telling you," Rory pointed out.  
  
"Huh, good point," Lorelai said. She took a deep breath. "All right, I'll call him." She stood up and grabbed the phone, then took it out onto the front porch. She sat down on the front steps and dialed the diner.  
  
"Luke's," Jess answered.  
  
"Jess, hey," Lorelai said. "Uh, is Luke around?"  
  
"Nope," he replied.  
  
"No? Is he upstairs?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"No, he went for a walk or something," Jess replied. "Told me to come down and help Caesar close up."  
  
"Okay, um. . .thanks," Lorelai said. She hung up the phone and dropped it on her lap, then stared straight ahead. She jumped when she saw movement at the end of the driveway, then realized it was Luke walking toward her in the darkness. She stood up and walked toward him.  
  
They met in the center of the lawn and hugged. "I'm sorry for. . .bugging you and everything," she muttered softly, resting her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Forget it," he replied. He pulled back and looked down at her bare feet. "Go get some shoes on."  
  
"Uh. . .why?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
"We're going for walk," he said.  
  
"A walk?" she asked, surprised. "Now? It's like ten at night."  
  
"I know, but I wanna show you something," he replied. "Please?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Okay." She paused and looked at him curiously. "Wait, is this one of those things where you're pretending that you're not mad at me to get me to go with you somewhere but when we get there you're gonna strangle me and throw my body in a lake?"  
  
Luke smiled. "No, only your mind thinks in that twisted kind of way."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "Be right back." She walked into the house and tossed the phone on the couch. "Luke's here. We're going for a quick walk," she told Rory as she ran up the stairs. She returned a minute later with her shoes on.  
  
"You do realize that it's almost ten, right?" Rory asked.  
  
"Uh huh, he wants to show me something," Lorelai said with a shrug. "Be back in a bit."  
  
Rory shrugged. "Okay, but I want details of this late night excursion." She paused. "You know, if they're not . . . gross."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay. See you later." She walked out the front door and over to Luke. "I'm ready."  
  
He took her hand and led her across the yard and down the street. They walked silently for several minutes, occasionally swatting away mosquitoes. Lorelai wanted to ask him where they were going, but instead decided to wait until they got there.  
  
When Luke led her into the cemetery, Lorelai's eyes widened. "Okay, this is too much like a bad horror movie. What the heck are we doing here?" she asked, squeezing his hand tighter.  
  
"You'll see," he said. He led her through the cemetery and stopped in front of a headstone. He pointed to it. "Look at what it says."  
  
She kneeled down. It took her a minute to read the name in the darkness, but she finally saw it and stood back up. "It's your dad's," she said quietly.  
  
"Yeah, look at the birth date," he said.  
  
Lorelai kneeled back down and read, "May twenty-first." She stood back up. "That's today." She laced her fingers through his. "Okay, so why are we - " She paused a moment, then asked, "Wait, is this where you came earlier?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah. I come a couple times throughout the year, his birthday being one of 'em. You know, just to pay my respects and what not," he said with a shrug.  
  
Lorelai swallowed hard. "That's really nice," she said softly.  
  
"Yeah, well. . . sorry I didn't wanna talk about it before," Luke said.  
  
"No, I had no right bugging you like that, it's none of my business where you go," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "I'm not one of those women who needs to know where her boyfriend is at all times, I swear."  
  
"I know," he replied. "But this is something that you should know about. I mean, it's something that I do once in awhile and . . . you know, I want you to know these things about me."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him, then hugged him tightly. As they pulled back from each other, Luke wrapped an arm around her shoulder and walked her out of the cemetery and back to her house.  
  
* * *  
  
The following Saturday, Luke knocked on Lorelai's front door. "Come in!" she called. Luke pushed open the door and walked into the front hall. Lorelai and Rory sat on the floor in the middle of the hallway. They were surrounded by boxes as they tried to clean out the closet.  
  
"How's it coming along?" Luke asked.  
  
"Well, my mom the pack rat doesn't want to throw any of her old jackets away so it's a lot harder than I thought it would be," Rory said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Hey, jackets may not seem very important right now because it's summer, but when the fall comes you'll thank me that we have so many choices," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yes, okay, but we don't have to leave them in here all summer," Rory said. "At least pack the heavier ones up and put them in the attic until the fall."  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Fine, fine, I'll put some of them away," she grumbled. She stood up and took a bunch of jackets out of the closet, then tossed them on the floor. "Luke, can you shove them into one of those boxes over there?" she asked, pointing toward the living room.  
  
Luke walked over to the boxes. He picked them all up, looking for an empty one. "These all have stuff in them."  
  
"Yeah, but they're all going up to the attic, too, so it doesn't matter. Just put the coats on top of the other stuff," Lorelai said.  
  
As Lorelai went back to sorting through things with Rory, Luke picked up one of the boxes and walked over to the coats. He sat down on the ground and opened the box, then rummaged through the contents. "What is all this?"  
  
Lorelai and Rory both looked up. "What?" Lorelai asked. Her eyes widened slightly and she glanced quickly at Rory. Rory looked over at the box, then looked back to Lorelai. Lorelai nodded toward the kitchen and Rory stood up and walked away.  
  
Lorelai walked over and sat down next to him. She cleared her throat. "Oh, that's just. . . my Max box."  
  
"Max box?" Luke repeated.  
  
"Yeah, you know, just some stuff from our relationship. . ." Lorelai's voice trailed off.  
  
"That you're gonna save in the attic?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai bit her lip and nodded slowly. "Uh, is that okay - I mean, do you want me to not save them? I can just throw it out if you - "  
  
Luke shook his head. "No, no, that's fine. Do what you want with them."  
  
"I mean, I obviously have some bad memories of what happened with him. . . but some of the stuff was good. I just thought that someday I might. . . I don't know, wanna go through this stuff." Lorelai paused. "Are you sure you don't care?"  
  
"Yup, I'm sure," Luke replied. "I actually have some stuff. . . you know, that I wanted to save. . .some little things. . .I didn't know if you'd get upset or. . . " His voice trailed off.  
  
"Like. . . Rachel stuff?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, just . . . you know, some small things."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "We can put it up there with the Max box and then they can talk to each other and maybe they'll hit it off and start dating and then have little box children."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't want to shatter your hopes but I don't think inanimate objects can have kids."  
  
Lorelai let out a fake gasp. "What? You're kidding!"  
  
Luke smiled and kissed her. Lorelai pushed the box out of the way, then crawled onto his lap and kissed him again. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer as her fingers gently squeezed the back of his neck. Lorelai pulled back from the kiss and smiled at him. "Rory!" she called. "You can come back now."  
  
Lorelai kissed him one more time before she stood up and walked back to the closet. Rory walked out of her bedroom. "Uh, everything okay?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
"Yup, it's fine," Lorelai said. She pointed to a box. "Um, empty that box for Luke to put the jackets in, okay?"  
  
"Okay," Rory replied, turning around.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, they had cleaned both the hall closet and Lorelai's bedroom closet, and Luke had just taken several boxes into the attic. They walked back into her bedroom and glanced around. "Okay, so where am I gonna put my dressers?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai gestured to the wall opposite the closet. "Right along there. There's plenty of room."  
  
Luke tilted his head and eyed up the space. "I don't know. Do you have a tape measure?"  
  
"Uh, I have one that I use for sewing," Lorelai said. "Will that work?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I guess so. Where is it?"  
  
"Downstairs. I'll get it," Lorelai replied. She walked out of the room and returned a minute later with the tape measure. She handed it to Luke and he measured the wall as Lorelai watched from the bed.  
  
When he finished, he handed the tape measure to her and said, "Okay, I think they'll be fine but I'm gonna measure them first just in case. No point in carrying 'em up here just to find out that they don't fit."  
  
Lorelai stood up and glanced at the clock. "Are you going back to work? Maybe Rory and I will come get some dinner."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, I'm gonna head back there now."  
  
"Okay," she replied. "I'll meet you downstairs, I'm just gonna change and do my hair."  
  
Luke nodded and walked downstairs. Rory was sitting on the couch reading. She looked up and smiled. "Hey, where's Mom?"  
  
"Oh, she's just getting dressed," Luke replied, shoving his hands into his pockets.  
  
Rory's eyes widened with embarrassment and she quickly glanced back down at her book, mumbling, "Oh, sorry."  
  
Luke's face reddened. "No, she's not. . .we didn't just. . .we weren't. . ." he stammered embarrassingly. "Oh my God," he muttered, shaking his head toward the floor.  
  
Rory shook her head and waved him off. "No need to explain, Luke. I'm a big girl, I get it."  
  
"No, really - we're gonna go to the diner for dinner and she didn't wanna wear the clothes she was cleaning in," Luke explained quickly. "I don't mean she's getting dressed, like getting dressed. . . " His voice trailed off as Lorelai came down the stairs.  
  
"You guys ready to go?" Lorelai asked. She glanced back and forth between them and noticed their discomfort. "What's going on?"  
  
Rory stood up quickly. "Nothing." She walked toward the front door and stepped out onto the porch.  
  
Lorelai glanced at Luke. "What's up? And don't say nothing because she just tried that and I didn't buy it."  
  
Luke sighed. "She asked where you were and I told her you were getting dressed and she thinks we just. . .uh, you know, " Luke said, swallowing hard.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Oh my God, that poor child! You haven't even moved in yet and you've already contaminated her mind with dirty thoughts about us." Lorelai walked toward the front door calling, "Rory!" Luke followed behind her with an embarrassed look on his face.  
  
* * *  
  
On Tuesday afternoon, Lorelai and Sookie walked into the diner and sat down at a table. Luke delivered two plates to a nearby table, then walked over to them. "Hey, what'll you have?" he asked quickly.  
  
"In a hurry?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah, Caesar had to leave early today so I'm short a man," he explained. "What'll you have?"  
  
"Do you need some help?" Lorelai asked. "I've never waitressed before, but I used to watch It's A Living so I'm pretty sure that I know how it's done."  
  
"Nah, I'm okay," Luke replied, waving her off.  
  
Lorelai stood up. "No, seriously, Sookie and I can help with the lunch rush, right Sook?"  
  
"Absolutely," she replied, standing up.  
  
"No, you really don't have to," Luke replied.  
  
They ignored him and walked over to the counter. Lorelai grabbed the coffeepot. "I'll be in charge of coffee."  
  
"And I can help in the kitchen," Sookie said. "I don't know if anyone's told you this, Luke, but sometimes I cook things."  
  
"Oh really?" Luke asked, pretending to be surprised. "Didn't know that. Huh." He rolled his eyes. "Go sit down at your table, I can handle this."  
  
"Come on, Luke, please let us help," Lorelai said, pouting. "Look, I'm pouting. You know you can't resist it. It's drawing you in. It's making you smile. Uh, what's that - is that a hint of a smile forming on your lips? I think it is!"  
  
Luke smiled and rolled his eyes. "Fine, here." He handed her his order pad. "You take the orders, me and Sookie will be cooking in the kitchen."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at them. "That sounds a little dirty. I've got my eye on you two," she said sternly. Sookie giggled and followed Luke into the kitchen.  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, Sookie and Lorelai walked out of the diner. "Oh my God, that was so fun!" Lorelai gushed.  
  
Sookie nodded in agreement. "It definitely was." She laughed. "What was up with that freaky order you sent in for the peanut butter and tuna sandwich? That was grossing me out."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "I know! The guy ordered it and I made him repeat it like fifty times. I was like, 'Are you sure you said peanut butter and tuna?' and he was all, 'Yes, that's what I said' and I was all, 'Wait, are you absolutely sure you said tuna and you're maybe not confusing it with this new product called jelly?,' and he was like, 'No, I want a peanut butter and tuna sandwich." Lorelai made a gagging sound.  
  
Sookie made a face. "Ugh, I had to practically close my eyes when I was making it." As they walked a little more toward the inn, Sookie remarked, "Luke looks really good."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "I knew it! You were hitting on him in the kitchen, weren't you?"  
  
"Yes, honey, we're having a secret affair." Sookie rolled her eyes. "No, I mean, he just looks a little thinner. Not that he wasn't thin before, but he looks thinner now."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I've noticed that, too. He's been working out and I can definitely feel the difference in weight when he's lying on top of me when we - "  
  
"Okay, okay!" Sookie interrupted with a laugh. "Let's leave out the visuals, thank you."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Okay, sorry."  
  
"I like the new plaid-less look, but it'll take some getting used to," Sookie remarked.  
  
"Yeah, he put them all away for the summer," Lorelai said. "Now he's going for just a plain t-shirt look."  
  
"Yeah, I never knew he was so muscular," Sookie said.  
  
Lorelai looked at her and laughed. "Okay, now I seriously have concerns about you trying to steal him from me."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Hey, I'm just saying he looks good - take it as a compliment."  
  
"Okay, taking it as a compliment, thank you," Lorelai replied. They walked a little more. "So what time should me and Rory come over tonight?"  
  
Sookie thought for a moment. "I don't know, like six-ish?"  
  
"Sounds good," Lorelai said.  
  
"Your dress is almost done," Sookie said.  
  
"I know!" Lorelai said excitedly. "I can't wait to see it all finished. And we can finally get a little more going on Rory's. Getting away from studying for a little while will be good for her - she's starting to stress over her finals."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Sookie asked. "We should have a party or something on her last day. When is it?"  
  
"Seventeen days," Lorelai replied quickly.  
  
Sookie laughed. "Man, look at you, Mrs. Countdown Lady."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I'm excited, what can I say?"  
  
"About Rory finishing up this very difficult school year and finally being able to breathe and relax and take some time for herself, or about what's gonna happen the day after?" Sookie asked teasingly.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Am I a bad mom if I choose option number two?"  
  
"Yes," Sookie replied.  
  
"Okay, then, call me a bad mom." Lorelai laughed.  
  
Sookie smiled. "You've been getting the house all ready?"  
  
"Yup, we've been getting rid of stuff and making room and I'm pretty sure the attic's gonna cave in from all the junk we've been putting up there," Lorelai said. "Ooh, and I have to make some spare keys for him and Jess." She checked her watch. "Do we have time to stop by the hardware store?"  
  
Sookie checked her watch. "Yeah, it only takes a second to make 'em."  
  
"Okay, let me make sure I have some money." Lorelai rummaged through her purse and found a five-dollar bill. "Okay, all set, let's go." Lorelai and Sookie walked down the sidewalk toward the hardware store. They went inside, then emerged several minutes later and continued walking back to the inn.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 30  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai and Rory walked to the diner after they left Sookie's house. Jess was sitting at one end of the counter eating a burger as Luke refilled the coffee cups at several tables. He glanced over to see who had entered. Lorelai smiled at him as she and Rory walked to the counter and sat down. Rory started talking to Jess as Lorelai waited for Luke. He finished pouring the coffee and walked over to her. "Hey."  
  
"Hi." Lorelai smiled. "How's it going?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Ah, you know. . .not much going on." He held up the coffeepot. "Coffee?"  
  
"Yeah, two to go," Lorelai replied. "Ooh, and I have something for you." She started rummaging in her purse.  
  
"Oh yeah?" he asked, raising his eyebrows curiously. He poured two take-out cups and set them on the counter.  
  
Lorelai finally found the two sets of spare keys and she pulled them out. She smiled and held them up for him to see. "Your very own deluxe set of keys."  
  
Luke smiled. "Oh, good, thanks."  
  
"Okay, let me tell you what they're for." Lorelai set the smaller set aside and held the other one up. She fanned out the keys and went through them one by one. "Okay, so these three are for the main doors: this is for the front door, this is for the side door and this is for the back door." She paused a moment and looked at the three keys questioningly, then wrinkled her nose and shrugged. "I think. I can't really tell."  
  
Luke laughed. "Great, thanks, you're a big help."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Well, it's not my fault. These look different than mine because they're brand new and shiny and they all look the same, whereas mine are all worn and I'm used to how they look so I can just tell which door they go to."  
  
"I get it," Luke said. "We'll figure out which is which later. What are the other ones?"  
  
Lorelai pointed to another key. "Okay, this one is for the fireproof safe I have in my closet. You know, it has important papers in it like birth certificates, the deed to the house, a list of all the coffee shops in the continental United States. . . stuff like that."  
  
Luke smiled. "Got it."  
  
"And this one is for the padlock on the shed." Lorelai paused and shrugged casually. "We never lock it anyway so you probably don't need an extra key for it, but if God forbid someone accidentally does lock it and the lawnmower gets stuck inside and starts screaming for help when I'm not home, you'll be able to rescue him. Oh, and this last one's for the Jeep." She smiled and handed the set of keys to him. "There you go, all yours."  
  
Luke smiled and took them from her. "Thanks."  
  
Lorelai picked up the other set and turned toward Jess. "Jess?"  
  
Rory and Jess stopped talking and turned to Lorelai. "Yeah?" he replied.  
  
Lorelai held out the keys. "Here, these are for you."  
  
Jess reached past Rory and took them. "What are they?"  
  
"They're keys to our house," Rory said.  
  
Jess looked down at them and raised his eyebrows. "Oh."  
  
"Yeah," Lorelai said. "One of them is for the front door and the other's for the back door. You know, for when you guys move in."  
  
"Thanks," he said, putting them in his pocket.  
  
"Yeah, so that means you don't use them until you are actually living there," Luke warned. "Understand?"  
  
Jess nodded as he took a bite of his burger. "Uh huh," he mumbled.  
  
"Ready to go?" Lorelai asked Rory.  
  
"Yup," she replied, picking up one of the takeout cups.  
  
Lorelai turned to Luke. "So, in return, I would like a complete set of keys to the diner."  
  
Luke laughed. "Right, and then my coffee supply starts mysteriously shrinking overnight. I don't think so."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Luke, I'm offended that you think that I would steal from this fine establishment! I would merely use those keys in case of an emergency. . . like what if one night you're sleepwalking and somehow wind up locked in the storage room and I have to come let you out? Don't you think it's a good idea to be prepared for a situation like that?"  
  
"I don't sleepwalk," Luke replied.  
  
"Nice try, Mom," Rory said, patting her on the back. "Let's go."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Should I even bother going into more scenarios or are you dead set on this?"  
  
"Dead set," he replied with a smile.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Fine." She leaned across the counter and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye."  
  
"See you tomorrow," Luke replied.  
  
* * *  
  
On Saturday night, Luke walked up to Lorelai's front door and rang the doorbell. Lorelai answered it, then smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Luke, I told you to stop doing that."  
  
"Doing what?" Luke asked, confused. He thought for a moment, then grimaced slightly. "Oh, right, I forgot."  
  
"Try it again," Lorelai instructed. She shut the door and walked into the kitchen.  
  
A few seconds later, the front door opened and Luke walked into the house. He stopped in the hallway and called, "All right, I did it. Where are you?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "In the kitchen."  
  
Luke walked into the kitchen and shrugged. "Happy?"  
  
"Yup." Lorelai walked over and kissed him. "See, this is all part of the transition process, Luke. We start with something small, like you walking in instead of ringing the doorbell, and pretty soon it'll feel so much like home that you'll be lounging around on the couch in your underwear eating carrot sticks and watching football."  
  
Luke laughed. "Okay, that's one scenario I can guarantee will never, ever happen," he said, shaking his head. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her close to him.  
  
Lorelai smiled and draped her arms over his shoulders. "Good, 'cause now that I think of it, it might scare Rory a little."  
  
"Speaking of Rory, is she here?" Luke asked.  
  
"Nope, she's with Dean," Lorelai replied. "She probably won't be home 'til eleven or so." She batted her eyelashes at him. "Any ideas on what we should do?"  
  
Luke smiled and kissed her. "Um, we could change all the light bulbs." He kissed her again.  
  
"Or we could alphabetize all of Rory's books," Lorelai suggested.  
  
"Mm, now there's something that'll keep us busy for awhile," Luke said, kissing her again.  
  
"Mmhmm," she murmured through the kiss.  
  
"Any other ideas?" he asked as he kissed down to her neck.  
  
"Well, uh, I could teach you how to play Miss Marry Mack," Lorelai muttered, leaning her head back. "That's always fun." She moaned softly as Luke began sucking on her neck. A few seconds later, she grabbed his hand and led him to the couch.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, they wandered into the kitchen. Lorelai walked over to the sink and turned around. "Okay, time for a comprehensive tour. Let me tell you where everything is. This is the sink."  
  
"Yes, it is," he agreed.  
  
She pointed to a cabinet below the sink. "That's where we keep the cleaning stuff - you know, dishwashing liquid, soap, stuff like that." She pointed to the upper cabinets. "That one's plates and bowls, that one's mugs and glasses, and that one's a bunch of storage containers."  
  
Luke nodded. "Okay, got it."  
  
Lorelai led him around the kitchen, showing him the contents of the other drawers and cabinets. She finished up by pulling open the refrigerator. "And this is the very large and spacious refrigerator which is currently being used to hold coffee beans, soda, bottled water, leftover takeout containers, a stick of butter, and beer." She shut the door. "I really need to go shopping," she informed him.  
  
"I see that," he said with a laugh. He glanced around. "What's in that thing over there?" he asked, pointing to the large cabinet in the corner.  
  
"Oh, forgot about that, sorry," she said, walking over to it. She opened the doors and gestured to the shelves. "As you can see, this cabinet contains a random selection of things. Dish towels, serving bowls, food, more cleaning supplies. . . lots of stuff. It's basically like the junk drawer I showed you except it's the junk cabinet."  
  
Luke smiled and nodded. "Okay, got it."  
  
Lorelai pointed to the bottom shelf. "And if you suddenly find the power of the Gilmore women unconquerable and need to escape the realities of life. . .well, that's where we keep the hard liquor."  
  
Luke smiled. "Good to know."  
  
Lorelai smiled and shut the doors. She put her hands on her waist and shrugged. "I think that's basically it. Any questions?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Nope, not really." He glanced around for a moment. "Actually, yeah."  
  
"What?" she asked. She walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.  
  
Luke sat down at the table. "What do you wanna do about paying for stuff?"  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean?" She walked over and handed him the water, then sat down next to him.  
  
Luke shrugged. "I mean, like shopping and paying bills and stuff like that - what do you wanna do about it? I mean, I guess we could each have our own separate money and each pay half of everything but. . . I don't know if I like that." He opened the water and took a sip.  
  
"Oh," Lorelai said. She bit her lip and thought for a minute. "I don't know." She took the water and drank some, then said, "I don't really like the separate money idea either. It'll be like we're platonic roommates or something, you know? Not two people starting a life together."  
  
Luke nodded in agreement. "So, we should just combine all the money?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, we'll get a joint checking account. I mean, we're already at the same bank anyway, I'm sure it won't be much trouble to transfer everything. I'll look into it this week."  
  
Luke smiled. "Good."  
  
"Ooh, and we can pick out new checks. Have you seen those new ones with the little puppies on them?" Lorelai asked excitedly.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "We are not getting puppies on our checks."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Well, what do *you* want - baseballs or something?" she asked, rolling her eyes.  
  
"No, we'll just get plain ones," he said.  
  
Lorelai made a face. "Bor - ing," she sang. "Luke, if you're paying bills and you have to write out a really big check to pay off a credit card or something and you have boring checks, the combination of the large payment you owe and the sad checks might make you become really depressed and suicidal. However, if you have cute, furry puppies on your checks, you'll be so happy looking at them that you won't realize that you're thousands of dollars in debt and, hence, you won't become depressed. Therefore, picking out the right pictures on your checks can save your life. Understand?"  
  
Luke exhaled loudly. "Plain checks are fine," he said firmly.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Did you not just hear my checkbook rant?"  
  
"Yes, I heard the checkbook rant, I just don't think that a piece of paper that doesn't have a puppy on it is gonna make me kill myself," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "But it might, Luke, and I'm trying to save you here!" She paused a moment. "Look, I'll go through the choices and find one with a little subtle design that's not too boring, but it'll still be plain enough to make you happy, okay?" She smiled at him hopefully.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine."  
  
Lorelai smiled and clapped her hands together excitedly. "Yay! Thank you."  
  
"You know, the stupidest things make you happy," Luke remarked.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "I know. You should see me when free samples of cereal come in the mail. It's like Christmas." She stood up from the table. "You wanna watch a movie or something?"  
  
He nodded and stood up. "Sure."  
  
"Mmkay, go pick something out," she said. "I'm gonna make some popcorn."  
  
"Okay." Luke walked into the living room and searched through the video collection. He finally picked one out and put it in the VCR.  
  
A few minutes later, Lorelai walked in and sat next to him on the couch. "What'd you pick?"  
  
"Taxi Driver," he replied.  
  
"Ooh, good choice," Lorelai replied, nodding impressively at his selection. "And because you're letting me pick out the checks, I promise I'll try to keep the movie commentary down to a minimum."  
  
Luke smiled. "I appreciate that."  
  
* * *  
  
A few days later, Lorelai walked into the kitchen of the inn carrying an empty box. "Hey Sookie."  
  
Sookie looked up from the cake she had been decorating. "Hey. Found another one?"  
  
"Yup, I'm just gonna put it with the others," Lorelai said. She walked out the back door and nestled the box into the stack on the back porch. She walked back inside and over to Sookie. "He's gonna come pick them up, then we're going out for lunch."  
  
"Has he started packing already?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I was over last night helping him while Jess was at work." She picked up a spoon, dipped it into the bowl of frosting, and licked it. "Mm, that's good."  
  
Sookie smirked. "You two were alone in that apartment all night just packing?"  
  
"Yup," Lorelai replied. She paused a moment, then smiled. "Well, you know, in between making out and stuff."  
  
Sookie giggled. "Thought so. You guys are like teenagers."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Well, you know, a wise man once said. . . have sex as often as you can."  
  
Sookie laughed. "Interesting. I've never heard that before."  
  
Lorelai nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, trust me, that guy said it. . . that really famous guy."  
  
"Hugh Grant?" Sookie suggested.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "No, but I think he's one of the most loyal supporters."  
  
Sookie smiled and spread a layer of frosting on the cake. "Okay, so tell me. . . comparing Chris, Max, and Luke. . ."  
  
Lorelai laughed and exclaimed, "Sookie!"  
  
"What, I'm just curious," Sookie said with a laugh. "They all seem like. . .very able men."  
  
"They definitely are all able," Lorelai agreed.  
  
"So?" Sookie asked. "Who's the best?"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "No contest - Luke, by far. And not just by a little far, I'm talking about a large distance. You know, like a 'from here to Japan' kind of far."  
  
"Really?" Sookie asked, smiling. "Or are you just saying that because you're with him now and you feel like you have to say that?"  
  
"No, Sookie, I'm not just saying it," Lorelai insisted. "I'm being totally honest. The others were definitely good, but Luke's just. . .wow." She stared into space for a few seconds, smiling to herself.  
  
Sookie giggled and snapped her fingers in front of Lorelai's face. "Honey, come back down to Earth."  
  
Lorelai shook her head slightly and blinked several times. "Sorry, the mental images took over my body."  
  
Sookie smiled. "So, okay, you say that Luke's better, but does that also mean he's. . . well, let's just say, if there was a contest between them involving tape measures. . ."  
  
Lorelai smiled slyly and nodded. "Oh yeah, Luke would take home the prize."  
  
Sookie giggled. "Man, he'd kill you if he knew you were talking about this."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I know, but hey, if he didn't want me bragging to my friends then he shouldn't be so good."  
  
"Yeah, it's all his fault," Sookie agreed.  
  
Michel walked into the kitchen. "You told me to tell you when your mother arrived," he grumbled. "She has arrived."  
  
"Oh, thanks," Lorelai replied. As Michel left the kitchen, Lorelai turned to Sookie and made a face. "Ugh, and now starts the longest thirty minutes of my life."  
  
"I forget, what's your mother doing here?" Sookie asked.  
  
"She wants to look around and make sure everything's suitable for her DAR meeting next week," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Remember, she's coming back later this week to taste the soups?"  
  
"Oh, right, right, right," Sookie said, nodding. "I remember now."  
  
Lorelai exhaled loudly as she walked toward the door to the lobby. "Wish me luck that I don't end up locking her in one of the maid's closets."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Good luck."  
  
Lorelai walked into the lobby. Emily was waiting by the front desk, looking annoyed. As she saw Lorelai approaching, she checked her watch. "You told me to be here at 11:30, I was here at 11:30. It's now 11:35. This is the kind of businessperson you are, showing up late for meetings with people? That does not reflect very well on you or your establishment."  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Let me show you to the meeting area, Mom." Emily followed Lorelai through the lobby and into the dining room.  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, they walked back into the lobby and over to the front desk. Lorelai looked through her calendar. "So, Mom, when can you come back? Thursday, same time?"  
  
"Yes, Thursday's fine," Emily replied. "Although perhaps I should come at 11:35 this time."  
  
"Oh my God," Lorelai muttered under her breath. She made a note on her calendar, then said, "Okay, Mom, I'll see you on -. " Her voice trailed off as she glanced past Emily and saw Luke walk through the door. She smiled and muttered "Excuse me, Mom" as she started walking toward him.  
  
"Where are you going?" Emily exclaimed. "You don't just walk away when you're talking to - " Emily's voice faded as Lorelai got further away.  
  
Lorelai walked up to Luke and kissed him. "Hi."  
  
"Hey." Luke glanced toward the front desk. "Is that your mother staring at us?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and looked over toward Emily. "Yes. Come say hello." She grabbed his hand and led him to the front desk.  
  
"Emily, good to see you again," Luke greeted her.  
  
"Yes, same here," she replied, smiling. "How's everything?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Can't complain. How about yourself?"  
  
"Very well, thank you," Emily replied.  
  
Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, Luke, the boxes are out back. You can go through the kitchen. I'll meet you out there in a second."  
  
"Okay. Bye," he said to Emily.  
  
"Goodbye," she replied.  
  
As he walked away and disappeared through the kitchen door, Lorelai turned to Emily. "So, um, I'll see you on Thursday, then."  
  
"Boxes? He came to pick up boxes?" Emily asked.  
  
"Yup, boxes," Lorelai replied. "So, Thursday, then." Lorelai started leading Emily toward the front door.  
  
"Boxes for what?" Emily pried.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "For him to pack his stuff in so he can bring it to my house," she replied quickly. She pulled open the front door. "See you on Thursday."  
  
"He's moving in already?" Emily asked, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"In eleven more days," Lorelai replied.  
  
"You're really going through with all this," Emily said in a surprised tone.  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked defensively.  
  
Emily shrugged. "Just that. . ."  
  
"You didn't think I would go through with it?" Lorelai asked. "That maybe I'd call it off like I did with the wedding?"  
  
"No, that's not what - ", Emily started.  
  
"Didn't think your daughter was really ready to commit to something this big?" Lorelai suggested.  
  
"Well, it's not as if you have the best track record in that department," Emily pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, well, push the old track record aside, there's a new one now," Lorelai said. "I'll see you on Thursday, Mom." Lorelai walked away before Emily could say anything.  
  
She walked through the lobby and into the kitchen. Luke was leaning against the counter talking to Sookie. She walked up to him and he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Sookie was just telling me why your mom's here," Luke said.  
  
"How'd it go?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and sighed. "As expected."  
  
Sookie frowned. "Aw. Well, it's lunch time now, so go relax and get the frustration out of your system."  
  
"Good idea. You wanna come to lunch with us?" she asked.  
  
"No thanks, you guys go and have fun," Sookie said.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay. I'll see you later." She and Luke walked out the back door and picked up the boxes. They tossed them in the back of Luke's truck, then drove away.  
  
* * *  
  
On Thursday afternoon, Lorelai walked into the diner and glanced around for Luke. Not seeing him, she sat at the counter and tapped her fingernails impatiently as she waited for him. Finally, he walked down from the stairway. Surprised to see her, he smiled and walked over to her. "Hey, what are you doing here?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and pulled a piece of paper out of her purse. She waved it in front of him. "This, my friend, is the moment you've been waiting for." Luke raised his eyebrows curiously and waited for her to continue. She put the piece of paper on the table and pointed to something. "These are our new checks," she said proudly.  
  
Luke looked down at the paper, which contained several rows of checks in various designs. He picked it up and looked at the one Lorelai had chosen.  
  
His mouth dropped open and he lowered the paper to glare at her. "Kittens? I told you no puppies so you switched to kittens? Lorelai!"  
  
Lorelai giggled and raised her hands defensively. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Geez, don't go getting all pyscho mad at me." She grabbed the paper and pointed to another one. "It's this one, you big baby."  
  
Luke picked it up and looked at the picture. "Clouds?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Okay, not too bad. At least it's not an animal."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "See? And you doubted me. You should know better by now not to doubt me since I always come through."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and handed her the paper. "When are they coming in?"  
  
"They should be here by next week," she replied.  
  
Luke nodded. "You want coffee?" he asked, turning around to get the pot.  
  
"Hm, can I get a soda?  
  
Luke stood still for a second, then turned around slowly. "What?"  
  
"Soda, I'll have a soda," she repeated.  
  
Luke blinked a few times. "Soda?"  
  
"Yeah, it's cold, carbonated, comes in bottles, you've probably seen it before," she explained, smiling.  
  
Luke smiled. "Yes, I've heard of it, but you rarely order that and if you do, it's usually with a meal."  
  
"Yeah, well, it's kind of hot out today. I need something cooler than coffee and I highly doubt that you can provide me with an iced cappuccino," Lorelai said.  
  
"I highly doubt it, too," he replied. He got her a soda and placed it in front of her. "So you saw your mom today?"  
  
Lorelai groaned. "Yes. My God, that woman is more neurotic than those terrorist guys in Toy Soldiers. You know how they lined up the kids like every half-hour to count them? Nope, that wouldn't be stringent enough for Emily Gilmore. She'd be lining them up every two minutes."  
  
"So, uh. . .bad afternoon?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, but we got everything set up for her meeting, so she's happy," Lorelai said.  
  
"Good, good," he nodded. He glanced past her and noticed a customer waving for his attention. "I'll be right back." He grabbed his order pad and walked over to the table. A few seconds later, he took the order into the kitchen, then returned to the counter. "So, this Saturday. . ."  
  
"Yup, we'll work on Jess' room," she finished. "I feel bad that it's so small, though. He's gonna hate it."  
  
Luke shrugged. "He probably won't be in there too long. He's been doing really good lately with work and school and stuff."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "That's good."  
  
"Yeah, so. . .you know, it'll probably only be two weeks," Luke said. "I think he's gonna meet his two month minimum and then he'll be out."  
  
"But even after he leaves, we should keep it ready for him. . .just in case he sorta falls out of this responsibility charm you put on him," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yeah, but I don't think he will - especially after he spends two weeks in that room," Luke said. "There's no way he'll risk losing his own place for that little room he has to share with the washer and dryer."  
  
"True, good point," Lorelai said. She finished her soda and stood up. "Okay, I gotta get home. I'm gonna help Rory start studying for exams. I'll call you later."  
  
"Okay." Luke leaned across the counter and kissed her. "Bye."  
  
* * *  
  
On Saturday morning, Luke walked into Lorelai's house. Rory, who was sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal, heard the front door open and called, "Hello?"  
  
Luke shut the door and stepped into the hallway. "Uh, it's just me."  
  
"Oh, Luke, hey," Rory said, smiling. "Come in. Mom just finished eating, now she's in the shower."  
  
Luke walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. "So. . ." He tapped his hands on the table.  
  
"So. . ." Rory said. "Uh, do you want some cereal or something?" She gestured to her bowl.  
  
Luke waved her off. "Oh, no thanks, I'm good."  
  
"Okay." She ate a spoonful, then asked, "So you guys are gonna work on the junk-slash-laundry room today?"  
  
"Yup," he replied. "What about you? Oh, you have studying to do, right?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Yeah, I'm gonna go to the library. I've got exams all this week. It's gonna be tough."  
  
Luke smiled. "I'm sure you'll do fine."  
  
"I hope so," she replied. "I mean, I've been doing well throughout the year and finals are just basically all that stuff all over again, so it shouldn't really be that hard. I mean, sometimes all the math equations can get confusing while you're studying, but usually when I'm in the actual exam, I realize that they're not really that hard and I can - " She suddenly stopped talking and rolled her eyes. "And you probably don't care about this at all, I'm sorry."  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows and nodded. "No, I do, keep talking."  
  
"Really?" she asked, slightly surprised.  
  
"Absolutely," he replied, leaning back in his chair. "Talk away."  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, Lorelai walked down the steps pulling her still-wet hair back into a ponytail. She smiled to herself as she walked toward the kitchen and saw Luke and Rory laughing about something. "Hey, what's going on?" she asked, smiling. She stood behind Luke and put her hands on his shoulders.  
  
"Hey Mom," Rory said.  
  
Luke craned his neck up to look at her and she kissed him. He smiled and said, "I was just telling Rory about when you were coming out of the restaurant the other day and almost knocked over that old lady with the walker."  
  
Lorelai scoffed and nodded at Rory. "Yeah, and then I tried to be nice and apologize but she started screaming at me like a maniac! Good thing Luke was there to hold me back or I would've started a fist fight with that little witch."  
  
Rory laughed. "I bet she warned all of her friends at the geriatric center about you."  
  
"Good, maybe now they'll stay outta my way." Lorelai sat down at the table and sighed loudly. "I don't feel like cleaning today."  
  
"We have to," Luke said. "And we have to get started soon so I can be back at the diner for lunch." He stood up.  
  
"Aw, man, I just sat down," Lorelai whined.  
  
"Fine, I'll go get started without you," Luke told her. "But my style of cleaning is a little different than yours."  
  
Lorelai jumped up. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"  
  
Rory laughed. "What's your style of cleaning?" she asked Luke.  
  
"He throws everything away," Lorelai answered for him. "If he doesn't know what it is, he just throws it away. If he doesn't know where to put it, he just throws it away. If he knows what it is and knows where to put it but he thinks we don't need it, he just throws it away."  
  
"Ah, so he's the exact opposite of you, the queen of the pack rats," Rory said knowingly.  
  
"Exactly," Lorelai said. "It's my opinion that he has secret aspirations to be a garbage man."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "See you later, Rory. Good luck with studying."  
  
Rory smiled. "Thanks."  
  
Luke and Lorelai walked upstairs into the small room next to Lorelai's bedroom. Luke put his hands on his waist and glanced around. Lorelai stood behind him and said, "Looks fine to me, I'm gonna go watch tv."  
  
She started to turn around and Luke quickly reached out and grabbed her arm. "Get back here."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "All right, all right. What do you wanna do?"  
  
"Okay, first, we go through all those boxes and see what we can throw away, then we try to compact all the boxes and put them up in the attic," Luke said.  
  
"Luke, no! We are going to be sleeping one day and be woken up by the ceiling falling in on us because we are putting too much stuff up there!" Lorelai complained.  
  
Luke sighed and turned around. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her sternly. "Lorelai, I've told you this a thousand times - it's not going to collapse." He pointed to the ceiling. "Those beams up there in the attic are supporting the roof of this house, do you understand that?"  
  
"Yes," she mumbled, folding her arms across her chest.  
  
"Okay, that means that they're pretty damn strong, and putting a couple boxes of clothes and junk up there is not going to make them suddenly give out," he said.  
  
"You don't know that for a fact," Lorelai said. "Maybe those beams aren't as strong as they look."  
  
"I was walking on them last week," Luke reminded her. "I wouldn't have gone up there if I didn't think they could hold me."  
  
"Yeah, well, you just. . .maybe they're. . .we should. . ." she stammered.  
  
Luke smirked. "Okay, now that you've officially ran out of complaints, I'm closing this conversation."  
  
Lorelai huffed. "Okay, okay, fine. But if it does collapse. . ."  
  
"Then it's totally my fault and I will personally rebuild it myself, okay?" Luke asked, rolling his eyes. "Does that make you feel better?"  
  
Lorelai grinned. "Yes, thank you." She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.  
  
Luke pressed her up against the doorframe and eagerly kissed her back. A few seconds later, he pulled away from her and said, "Okay, come on, let's get this room done."  
  
Lorelai brought her hands to his face and stroked his sideburns. "Maybe we should reward ourselves for our hard work."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes. "Meaning?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Meaning that when we're done with this room today, we move on to my room."  
  
"What? But your room doesn't need to be - " Luke started. He paused, then smiled. "Oh, I get it. Good reward system."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "If that ain't an incentive to clean, I don't know what is."  
  
* * *  
  
Luke and Lorelai went through the room, moving some of the more necessary items to other rooms and putting the less-used items into storage boxes. When all of the junk had been sorted, Luke carried the boxes to the attic. When he returned, he and Lorelai stood in the center of the room, looking around. "It doesn't look so small when all the junk's out of here," Lorelai remarked.  
  
"Yeah, it's not so bad," Luke said. He looked at the washer and dryer. "If something does go wrong and he ends up being here longer than two weeks, we'll have to figure out something with those."  
  
"Like what?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Well, like, we could take a section of the back porch and close it off, then move the washer and dryer down there," Luke said. "It wouldn't be hard to do. We'd just have to put up some walls and pop on a door, simple as that. You know, it might be good to build some shelves in here for Jess' stuff instead of lugging over a dresser. And you know, the upstairs bathroom could probably use some new shelving, too. I noticed you don't have much in there. And maybe - "  
  
Lorelai laughed and held up her hands. "Okay, okay, calm down! Once you get into that 'I'm a handy builder' mode, it's hard to get you out."  
  
Luke smiled. "Sorry. We'll just stick to shelves for Jess right now."  
  
"Sounds good," she replied. She glanced around the room. "So, this room. . . done for today?" she asked hopefully.  
  
Luke nodded and checked his watch. "We've got twenty minutes before I have to be at the diner."  
  
"Okay, then we'll have to skip the foreplay," Lorelai said. She grabbed his hand and led him to her bedroom, slamming the door behind them.  
  
* * *  
  
Not long after, the bedroom door opened. Lorelai walked out and Luke followed behind her, tucking his shirt into his jeans. They walked down the stairs and over to the front door. Lorelai leaned against it, smiling. She grabbed his collar and pulled him close, kissing him hungrily. He pulled back from her. "I really have to go."  
  
She frowned. "You'd rather spend time with red meat than me?"  
  
"No, but I have to," he replied. "But, you know, if I asked you that same question, I have a feeling you'd probably hesitate before you answered."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I'll think about it and get back to you."  
  
Luke smiled and kissed her. "Bye."  
  
"Bye." Lorelai moved aside and pulled open the door, then watched as he stepped out onto the porch and walked across the yard.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 31  
  
* * *  
  
On Tuesday afternoon, Lorelai called Luke from the inn. "Luke's", he answered.  
  
"Oh my God, please come rescue me and take me to a far away land where parents do not exist," Lorelai begged.  
  
Luke laughed. "How're things with your mom's meeting?"  
  
"Oh, they're just peachy," Lorelai replied with a sigh. "I swear, if that woman complains about one more thing, we may have to call a doctor to remove my foot from her - "  
  
"Lorelai!" Luke interrupted with a laugh. "Come on, it can't be that bad."  
  
"Oh, trust me, it's that bad," Lorelai said. "And if you thought *she* was annoying, just try to picture a dozen other women just like her all in the same room."  
  
"Geez," Luke said. "Well, it's almost over, right?"  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Yeah, shouldn't be too much longer."  
  
"Good," he said. "Are you coming by after work?"  
  
"I can't," Lorelai said. "I'm helping Sookie stuff and stamp her wedding invitations, then I'm helping Rory study."  
  
"Well, aren't you helpful," Luke said. "So I won't see you tonight?"  
  
"Probably not," Lorelai replied. "Think you'll survive without me?"  
  
"I'll try," he said. "I went over this morning and put up the shelves in Jess' room."  
  
"Oh, good," Lorelai said. "Has he been packing?"  
  
"Yeah, but he said he's not bringing much," Luke replied. "Just some clothes, some books, his CD player. . . little things. He's leaving everything else here."  
  
"Guess he's planning on moving back there pretty soon," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yeah, that, and he'll probably spend most of his time here and then just come to your house at night to sleep," Luke said. "Seems kind of useless to even make him move out for two weeks but. . .you know, I want to maintain the rules."  
  
"Yeah, good idea. I'd probably do the same thing," Lorelai remarked.  
  
"Yeah," Luke replied. "I'm just gonna leave all the diner stuff there. The safe, bank records, files, all that stuff. I think before the two weeks are up, I'm gonna maybe build a little room for it either upstairs in the corner of the apartment or maybe in the back of the storage room."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Here we go with the building again. If you didn't own a diner, would you have become a carpenter?"  
  
"I don't know," Luke said. "It's more like a hobby than something I'd want to do full time, but. . . I don't know, maybe. It's fun."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Fun? Wow, Luke, you just said the magic f-word," Lorelai pointed out.  
  
Luke paused a moment. "Okay, I know you pretty damn well - well enough to know that you're setting me up for some sort of dirty remark and I'm not falling for it."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Aw, come on, please! This is where you're supposed to say, 'Yeah, well, I like the magic f-word once in awhile.' Come on, say it!"  
  
"No way," he replied with a laugh. "I'm hanging up now."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Fine, ruin my moment."  
  
"Sorry. Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
* * *  
  
On Saturday morning, Lorelai pushed open the door to Rory's room. Seeing that Rory was still asleep, Lorelai ran over and jumped onto the bed next to her. "Get up!" she said, patting Rory on the back.  
  
Rory groaned loudly. "Mom!" she grumbled. "Get out."  
  
"Rory, come on, it's moving day!" Lorelai said. "We have to get to the diner and help."  
  
Rory lifted her head and squinted to look at her clock. "Mom, it's only eight. We have all day."  
  
"Rory, first we have to move the boxes and furniture over here, and then we have to unload everything and put it all away," Lorelai explained. "Do you have any idea how long that takes?"  
  
"No," Rory mumbled. "How long?"  
  
"I don't know. You're the smart one, I was hoping you could give me a rough estimate."  
  
Rory buried her face in the pillow. "Goodbye."  
  
Lorelai tapped her on the back and sang, "Get up my dear, have no fear, your mom is here, she'll . . . uh, drink a beer."  
  
Rory lifted her head and made a face. "There is a reason that you're not a professional singer."  
  
"Yes, and it's because I couldn't think up a good name for my band," Lorelai said. She climbed off the bed and walked to the door. "Now get up or I'm coming back in ten minutes to sing Kokomo at the top of my lungs. Here's a little teaser. . . Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty Mama. . ." As Rory pulled her pillow over her head, Lorelai pulled the door shut and walked into the kitchen.  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, when Lorelai and Rory pulled up to the diner, there were already boxes loaded into the back of Luke's truck. Jess walked out of the diner and latched the door so it stayed open. "Hey," he said. "You might wanna stand back."  
  
Lorelai and Rory peeked into the diner. The tables had been pushed aside so a pathway was formed in the middle, and Luke and Jackson were carrying one of Luke's dressers toward the door. Kirk walked with them, directing them so they wouldn't hit anything.  
  
"Now, it's gonna be a tight fit so watch your fingers as you go through the door," Kirk said, stepping outside. "And don't forget to watch the steps."  
  
Lorelai winced as Luke backed out of the diner and almost missed the first step. "Ah, be careful!" she said worriedly.  
  
"I'm fine," he said. They brought it out onto the sidewalk and Luke said, "Okay, let's set it down for a minute." They placed it on the sidewalk, and Luke walked over to Lorelai. "Hey."  
  
"Hi, can we help?" she asked, putting her arm around Rory.  
  
"Yeah, you can go up and get all the drawers that go with this. They're all empty and stacked near the door. You can put them in your trunk," Luke said, pointing to the Jeep.  
  
"Okay. Come on, hon," Lorelai said, grabbing Rory's hand. As she walked past Jackson, she patted him on the back and said, "Hey Jackson, thanks for helping today."  
  
"Glad to," he replied.  
  
They walked into the diner as they heard Luke say, "Okay, ready to put it on the back of the truck? Jess, Kirk, we're gonna need your help here. Everyone grab one side and. . ." Luke's voice trailed off as Lorelai and Rory made their way through the diner and up the stairway to Luke's apartment.  
  
"Wow," Rory said, her eyes widening as she saw all the boxes. "All this is coming to our house?"  
  
"Yup," Lorelai replied. "It looks like a lot because it's all in boxes, but most of it's stuff from his drawers, so it's not like it's gonna take up a lot of space or anything."  
  
Rory nodded. She glanced around and pointed to the stack of empty drawers. "There they are." They each picked up two of them and carried them downstairs.  
  
As they walked outside, Lorelai saw Miss Patty and Babette standing nearby, watching the men as they secured the dresser to the truck. Lorelai and Rory put the drawers in the Jeep, then walked over to them. "Hey," Lorelai said, shoving her hands in her pockets.  
  
"Hey dolls," Babette said. "You just missed a good show."  
  
Miss Patty smiled. "Oh, yes, it was quite entertaining watching them get that bureau up the little ramp."  
  
"I'm sure it was," Lorelai said.  
  
Miss Patty smirked. "You know, you've got yourself quite a strong man, there, dear."  
  
"Uh, yes, I do," she agreed.  
  
Miss Patty glanced over toward Luke and muttered, "Quite a set of biceps he's got there. I bet his thighs are just as muscular as those arms." She bit her bottom lip and raised her eyebrows.  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened and she grabbed Rory's hand. "Let's go." She pulled Rory toward the side of the diner. "Geez, you would think I would know by now not to let you come in contact with Patty."  
  
"That conversation was definitely heading in a place I didn't want to visit," Rory said.  
  
They leaned against the window and waited for the guys to finish with the dresser. When they climbed off the truck, Lorelai walked up to Luke and patted him on the back. "Hon, stay away from Patty. She's picturing you naked again," she whispered.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and blushed slightly as he glanced in Patty's direction. "Thanks for the tip. Hey, how'd you convince Kirk to help out?" Luke asked quietly.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I offered him a lap dance but he said he'd be willing to do it for a box of Equal."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes. "Box of Equal?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "I didn't ask why, I just turned it over to him."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Weird. Okay, let's go." Luke took her hand and led her back into the diner and upstairs to the apartment. Rory, Kirk, Jess, and Jackson followed behind them.  
  
As the other men walked over to the second dresser, Luke stood with Rory and Lorelai at the door. "Okay, how much room do you have left in your trunk? Can you fit the rest of the drawers in there?"  
  
Lorelai thought for a moment. "Um, I think we can probably fit like three more."  
  
Luke nodded. "Okay, carry them all down, fit whatever you can in your trunk, then put the rest in the passenger seat of the truck."  
  
"Okay," Lorelai said. Luke walked over to the dresser as Lorelai and Rory carried the drawers down and loaded them into the vehicles. They leaned against the Jeep and waited for the guys to bring down the dresser.  
  
After they had loaded it into the truck next to the first one, they secured it with rope and shut the back of the truck. "Okay, this one's full," Luke announced, tapping the side of the truck. "Jackson, I'll move it and then you can pull your truck up and we'll load as many boxes as we can into it."  
  
"Okay," Jackson replied, pulling his keys out of his pocket.  
  
Luke walked over to Lorelai. "Okay, I need you to take the Jeep home and unload everything, then bring it back so we can load some boxes into it."  
  
Lorelai saluted him. "Aye aye, captain."  
  
Luke started to walk away, then he turned around and said, "And make sure your bedroom is clean because the guys will all be in there."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Hmm, sounds kinky."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Just make sure there's nothing embarrassing showing."  
  
"So I should take down the framed nude pictures of us that I just hung up on the wall?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and pointed toward the Jeep. "Just go."  
  
* * *  
  
Later that morning, all of the boxes and furniture had been transported to Lorelai's house. Several boxes were stacked in the yard and on the porch, and some were strewn throughout the living room and kitchen. One of the dressers was already in place in Lorelai's room, and as Lorelai and Rory lounged on the couch, the men struggled to bring the second one up the staircase.  
  
Lorelai turned to Rory. "You know, it's times like this when I'm glad I'm a weak, fragile woman in a town of strong men."  
  
Rory nodded in agreement. She glanced around the room and her eyes fell on the twin bed mattress leaning against the side door. "Are you sure that bed's gonna fit in Jess' room?"  
  
"Uh huh," Lorelai nodded. "Luke measured it. Trust me, he's got everything all planned out. He's like the love child of Bob Vila and Martha Stewart, I swear to God."  
  
Rory smiled. "Yeah, I can see that. He has a good mixture of masculine and feminine talents."  
  
"I know, right? The man is organized, handy, a great builder, a good cook - it's really the only explanation," she replied with a shrug.  
  
"And we're none of those things, so it's a good thing he's here," Rory added.  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded, then glanced toward the staircase. "It sounds like they finally made it into the bedroom, so I guess they're almost done. Then we have to unload all the boxes."  
  
Rory made a face. "Oh boy, fun times."  
  
"You don't have to help if you don't want to," Lorelai said with a shrug. "I'm certainly not gonna make you spend your Saturday unpacking boxes. You can hang out with Lane or something. When's Dean coming back from Chicago?"  
  
"Wednesday," Rory replied. She glanced toward the stairway as Jess, Luke, Jackson, and Kirk walked down.  
  
Lorelai stood up. "Hey. Everything all right?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yup, it's all set."  
  
The phone rang. As everyone else walked to the kitchen, Lorelai walked over to the desk and answered it. "Hello?"  
  
"Lor," Christopher replied. "What's up?"  
  
"Chris, hi," Lorelai replied. "Uh, just. . .moving day."  
  
"Oh, right, right," he replied. "I forgot that was today. Getting a lot done?"  
  
"Yup. How's everything with you?"  
  
"Good, good," he replied. "Is my offspring there?"  
  
"Yes, she is. Hold on a sec." Lorelai walked the phone into the crowded kitchen and waved it toward Rory. "It's your dad."  
  
Rory smiled and took the phone into her bedroom. Jess was sitting at the table drinking a soda as Jackson and Kirk were getting ready to step out the back door. "Thanks for all your help, guys," Lorelai called after them. They nodded toward her and Luke closed the door. He leaned against it and let out an exhausted sigh.  
  
Lorelai smiled as she walked over to him and he wrapped his arms around her waist. They kissed before she rested her chin on his shoulder and hugged him. She closed her eyes as his hands moved slowly up and down her spine.  
  
A few seconds later, Rory cleared her throat. "Uh, mom?"  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes and turned around. "What, hon?"  
  
Rory stood in her bedroom doorway cupping one hand over the phone receiver. "Dad wants to talk to you about me coming to visit him this summer," she said. "Uh, is now a bad time?"  
  
Lorelai walked over to her and gestured for the phone. "No, I'll talk to him." Lorelai took the phone and walked into the living room.  
  
* * *  
  
As Lorelai hung up the phone with Christopher, she walked back into the kitchen. Luke, Jess and Rory sat at the table talking. "Hey, you guys hungry for lunch?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Starved," Rory said.  
  
"I could eat," Jess replied with a shrug.  
  
"Pizza?" Lorelai suggested. They agreed, and Lorelai ordered it. As she hung up the phone, Rory asked, "So, what did Dad say?"  
  
"Uh, he said that he wants you to come visit," Lorelai said. She walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a can of soda.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "I know that part - what else?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "We were just running through some dates. He was thinking that maybe you could go up for a few days in July, then maybe again for a few days in August. What do you think?"  
  
"Sounds good," Rory said, nodding.  
  
"Okay. Well, he's gonna check to see when he can take off from work and stuff. We're gonna talk about it again next week." Lorelai opened her soda and took a long sip.  
  
"Okay," Rory replied. She stood up from the table. "Call me when the pizza's here." She walked into her bedroom and shut the door.  
  
Luke sighed. "We gotta start working on those boxes. Jess, you have to unload your stuff."  
  
"I know, I know," he replied. "I'll do it later." He stood up and walked into the living room.  
  
Lorelai set her soda on the table and slipped her hands into her pockets. "You wanna go work on the bedroom while we're waiting for the pizza?"  
  
Luke nodded and stood up. "Yeah, might as well."  
  
* * *  
  
Later that afternoon, Luke and Lorelai unloaded the last of Luke's clothes into his dressers. Lorelai groaned and fell back on the bed. "God, I never realized how exhausting and boring unpacking is."  
  
"Yeah, well, it's almost over, don't worry." Luke carried the empty boxes into the hallway and set them by the stairway. He walked back in and closed the door behind him.  
  
"I physically cannot go through another box today," Lorelai said. "Can we finish the rest tomorrow?"  
  
"Yeah, we'll do it tomorrow," Luke replied. "I have to get to the diner anyway."  
  
Luke walked over to his dresser and pulled out a t-shirt, then took his cap off and tossed it on the bed. Lorelai rolled onto her side and watched him as he changed his shirt. He dropped the dirty one into the laundry basket near the foot of the bed, ran his fingers through his hair, then replaced the cap on his head. "Listen, come by the diner later tonight and we'll go to the market," Luke said.  
  
"For what?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "For what? Lorelai, there's practically no food in this house. We're gonna stock it up."  
  
Lorelai sat up. "Stock it up?" she asked excitedly. "Like buy lots and lots of food?"  
  
"Yup," he replied. "And not just junk food either. We're gonna buy normal, everyday food."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Luke, the proportion of people in this house who like junk food to those who do not like junk food is three to one. That's seventy-five percent, which means that at least seventy-five percent of the grocery purchases should be junk food."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't think that's exactly how it works, but nice try." He walked over to the door and into the hallway. He stopped at the doorway to Jess' room, where Jess was unpacking. "Everything okay? You need anything?" Luke asked.  
  
Jess set his CD player on a shelf, then turned around. "Yeah, like twenty more feet of space. I feel like I'm in a freaking closet."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Sorry, but if you keep up your end of the deal, you won't be here too long." Jess nodded and went back to unpacking. Luke walked down the stairs and Lorelai followed him.  
  
Rory and Lane were sitting on the couch, the CD player and stacks of CDs sat in front of them on the coffee table. Luke smiled at them and walked into the kitchen as Lorelai sat in the armchair. "Hey guys."  
  
"Hey Mom," Rory replied. "What's up?"  
  
"Nothing much, we just finished unpacking his clothes," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Sounds fun," Lane remarked.  
  
Lorelai groaned. "Oh yeah, tons. Ooh, Luke and I are gonna hit the market later. He apparently wants to keep food in the house at all times," Lorelai said with a shrug. "I don't know what that's all about."  
  
Rory raised her eyebrows. "Really? Wow, that'll take some getting used to."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I know." Luke walked back into the living room. "You leaving now?" she asked, standing up and walking over to him.  
  
He nodded. "Yup. Bye Lane, see you later Rory."  
  
"Bye Luke," Rory said.  
  
"Bye," Lane replied.  
  
Lorelai and Luke walked to the front door and out onto the porch. They saw the stacks of boxes on the porch - most of them empty but some still waiting to be unpacked. Lorelai groaned. "Geez, I forgot about these."  
  
Luke shrugged. "These won't take long. Most of this stuff can get thrown into the shed."  
  
"Good," she said, "because we're running out of room in the house." She ran her hands over his arms. "But I'm sure if that ever does happen, my strong little handyman here can build me a new one, huh?"  
  
Luke smiled. "That's right."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "Bye."  
  
"See you later," he replied.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Lorelai walked into the diner and scanned it for Luke. She spotted him wiping the table in the corner and she walked up behind him. "Hey, you ready to go?" she asked, tapping him on the shoulder.  
  
Surprised, Luke turned around. "Oh, hey." He checked his watch. "Uh, yeah, let me just tell Caesar I'm leaving for a little while."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I'll wait out front." She walked out the door and leaned against the front window with her arms folded across her chest.  
  
A minute later, Luke walked out. "Okay, ready," he said. He pointed toward the market. "I parked the truck over there earlier so we wouldn't have to carry the bags too far."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Good thinking." They started walking toward the market. Lorelai pulled a folded up piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Rory and I started a general list of things we wanted."  
  
Luke groaned. "Oh geez, can't wait to see this." He read over the list silently, then stopped walking and looked at her. "You've got to be kidding me."  
  
Lorelai smiled and shrugged innocently. "What?"  
  
"This is all junk, Lorelai," Luke said. "There's not one normal food product on this list . . . and not one thing that's not completely unhealthy."  
  
"Uh huh!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Cheese puffs."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "How are cheese puffs healthy?"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Hello, cheese contains milk which helps us grow strong, hence the cheese puffs are healthy. There, ha." She smiled proudly.  
  
"Yeah, well, I think the preservatives and other crap they add to those things negates any and all healthiness that might have once been contained in that cheese," Luke said. He looked at the list and shook his head. "I can't believe this is what you guys have been living on for years," he muttered.  
  
Lorelai smirked. "Impressed that I've been able to maintain this figure?"  
  
"No, I'm impressed that you've managed to stay alive this long with all the crap that's been building up on your arteries - which, by the way, will ultimately lead to the failure of your heart," he said, nodding knowingly. He shook his finger at her. "Trust me, one day this will all catch up to you."  
  
She playfully pushed his hand away. "Yes, and until that day arrives, I say let us eat cake."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Fine, kill yourself."  
  
Lorelai grinned. "I will, thank you." She laced her fingers through his and they walked to the market.  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, they walked through the front door, each of them carrying several bags. Rory was in the kitchen pouring herself a drink, and her eyes widened at the amount of bags. "Oh my God," she said with a laugh.  
  
Lorelai smiled as she set her bags on the table. "And there are like four more bags in the truck." She walked over to Rory. "Can you go help Luke with 'em? I'll hold this for you and make sure nobody drinks it." Lorelai took Rory's cup and drank some.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "Thanks." She followed Luke out front and they brought in the last of the bags. They squeezed them onto the table with the other bags, then Rory walked over to claim her drink. Lorelai handed Rory the empty cup and Rory exclaimed, "Mom, that was the last of the iced tea!"  
  
Lorelai smiled and walked to the table. "Aha, but you'll soon forget how rude that was of me when you see all the great stuff we bought. . . including. . . " She reached into a bag and pulled out a canister. "Tada! More iced tea mix."  
  
Rory smiled. "Okay, you're forgiven. What else did you get?"  
  
"'What didn't we get' would be a more appropriate question," Luke said, rolling his eyes. He started unloading a bag.  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Oh my God, we got so much good stuff. Cookies, chips, soda, ice cream, whipped cream, Pop Tarts, cookie dough. . .you name it."  
  
"Geez, he let you buy all that?" Rory asked, surprised. "What did you do, blindfold him and sneak the stuff into the basket?"  
  
"Trust me, she probably would've tried that if I'd argued," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai smiled as she set the iced tea mix on the table. "He let me buy it because he finds me overwhelmingly adorable."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Or maybe it's because you'd never in a million years let me tell you what to eat so I didn't even bother to try."  
  
"That too," Lorelai shrugged. She reached into one of the bags and pulled out a package of raw chicken. "Ooh, Rory, look at this. You know how when we go to your grandparents' house, we have regular, normal meals?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Uh huh."  
  
Lorelai held up the chicken. "Well, we actually bought the types of food that will enable us to have full complete meals right here in this very house. . .you know, with side dishes and stuff. Food that you have to use the oven and stove to cook as opposed to the microwave or toaster."  
  
Rory's eyes widened. "Really?"  
  
"Yup, hold this." She handed the package to Rory, then rummaged in the bag and pulled out a jar. "You put this stuff on it." She showed Rory the bottle of marinade.  
  
Rory raised her eyebrows. "Looks good. Uh, do we know how to cook stuff like that?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and gestured dramatically toward Luke. "I give you our very own Julia Child."  
  
Luke groaned. "Please - if you're gonna compare me to a chef, at least make it a man," he said.  
  
"A male chef. . .hmm, let me think. Uh, Graham Kerr? Bobby Flay?" Lorelai suggested. "Ooh, Emeril?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "You know what, Julia's fine." He stacked several boxes of cereal in a cabinet.  
  
Moments later, Jess walked through the front door and came into the kitchen. He grabbed a soda from the fridge, popped it open, and drank half of it. As Luke crumbled a bag and threw it away, he nodded toward Jess. "Hey."  
  
"Hey." Jess glanced at the girls, who were staring intently at the package of chicken and the marinade. "What are they doing?"  
  
Lorelai showed him the package. "We have chicken."  
  
"Yeah, real chicken that you have to cook in the oven," Rory said, her eyes widening with excitement.  
  
Lorelai held up the bottle of marinade. "And marinade to pour on it," she added excitedly.  
  
Jess glanced questioningly at Luke, who rolled his eyes and shrugged. Jess raised his eyebrows. "Okay, carry on." He walked over to the table and glanced in some of the bags.  
  
Luke walked over to him. "You hungry? We just bought a ton of food."  
  
Jess reached into a bag and grabbed a small bag of chips. "I'll take these." He walked out of the kitchen and went up to his room.  
  
Luke unloaded another bag, then said, "Okay, I gotta get back to the diner and help close up. You think you two can put the chicken down long enough to finish putting this stuff away?" He gestured to the bags.  
  
Lorelai groaned. "You're leaving us with all the hard work?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know opening cabinets is tough but I have a feeling you'll be able to handle it. See you guys later."  
  
"Bye," Lorelai muttered. As Luke walked out the back door, Lorelai draped her arm across Rory's shoulder. "Okay, kid, where do we start?"  
  
Rory glanced at all the bags. "Hmm, let's split it up. I'll do the junk food, you do the normal food," she said.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Deal."  
  
* * *  
  
Almost an hour later, Luke walked through the front door. He dropped his keys on the hall table and walked into the living room. Lorelai was sitting on the couch watching television, and she smiled up at him. "Hey."  
  
He sat down next to her. "Hey." He leaned his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes.  
  
Lorelai turned off the television. "Tired?" she asked, rubbing his knee.  
  
He opened his eyes and looked at her. "A little bit." He exhaled slowly. "You know, it was a little strange tonight."  
  
"What was?" she asked.  
  
"Well, I mean, closing up the diner and then. . .not going upstairs," Luke explained. "It was weird to have to walk outside and drive home."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "A bad weird?"  
  
"Is there such thing as a good weird?" Luke asked.  
  
"I'm not sure, I think so."  
  
"It wasn't bad, it was just. . .different," Luke said with a shrug.  
  
Lorelai moved onto his lap, placing a knee on either side of his legs. "Did you hate having to do it so much that you wanna run upstairs, pack everything up, and move back to your apartment so you can be closer to work?"  
  
Luke smiled. "No."  
  
"Good." Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him. She pulled back slightly, leaving her face just inches from his. "Hey?"  
  
He put his hands on her waist. "Yeah?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "We're living together now."  
  
Luke smiled. "I know." She leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder. He hugged her tightly, nuzzling his nose against her neck. He kissed it softly and smiled to himself. "I know."  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, as they climbed up the steps for bed, they heard music coming from Jess' bedroom. Luke groaned. "I'll tell him to turn it down." He started to walk toward the room but Lorelai grabbed his hand.  
  
"Wait, wait, wait," Lorelai said quickly. She pulled him into their bedroom and shut the door.  
  
"Geez, what is it?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai ran her hand over his chest. "Don't you wanna celebrate our first night together?" She kissed his neck just below his ear.  
  
Luke shrugged. "Yeah, what's your point?"  
  
"That the walls are thin, Luke," Lorelai pointed out. "We might as well take advantage of the noise."  
  
Luke thought it over for a moment. "Huh, good point," he muttered.  
  
Lorelai giggled and tapped herself on the head. "See, I'm always thinking. You can tell him to turn it down when we're done." She reached around Luke and locked the door, then smiled up at him. "Now, do you wanna be the superhero, or the poor helpless victim that the superhero saves and then takes advantage of?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Just get on the bed."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, sir."  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Lorelai finished brushing her teeth and walked back to the bedroom, and she shut and locked the door. Luke was already in bed, leaning against the headboard and tapping his hands aimlessly on his stomach. He stopped tapping as Lorelai dropped her robe and tossed it on the chair. He watched her as she pulled a pajama top out of her dresser and slipped it on. She pulled her hair out of the collar and buttoned the bottom three buttons, then turned off the light and climbed into bed. She pulled the covers up over her, then turned to him and smiled. "Night."  
  
Luke smiled. "Night." He leaned over and kissed her, then turned over on his side. Lorelai rolled onto her stomach and closed her eyes.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, the blaring alarm woke Lorelai out of a sound sleep at six o'clock. "What the hell?" she mumbled groggily.  
  
Luke reached over her to turn it off. "Shh, go back to sleep," he whispered.  
  
"Isn't it Sunday?" she mumbled. "Who uses an alarm on a Sunday?"  
  
Luke yawned loudly. "Someone who runs a diner that's open seven days a week."  
  
Lorelai groaned into her pillow. "So this is gonna happen every Sunday?" she whined.  
  
"And Saturday," he added.  
  
Lorelai groaned even louder. "Great," she muttered. She turned over onto her back and sighed. "Maybe we should rethink this whole living together arrangement."  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Oh, nice, thanks."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Kidding." As Luke stood up and stretched, Lorelai turned onto her side and watched him. "Did you sleep okay?"  
  
"Yup, perfect," he replied. "You?"  
  
"Mmhmm," Lorelai nodded.  
  
Luke walked to his dresser and pulled out some clothes. He walked over to the foot of the bed and said, "I'm gonna go take a shower."  
  
"Okay," she replied through a yawn. "I'm gonna try to go back to sleep."  
  
"Okay." Luke watched as she rolled onto her back and closed her eyes.  
  
A few seconds later, with her eyes still closed, Lorelai laughed. "Okay, I can feel you looking at me. What is it?"  
  
"Nothing," he replied quickly.  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Luke, what is it?" she repeated. He smiled at her for a few seconds before he crawled onto the bed and lay on top of her. He kissed her cheek, then whispered something into her ear. As he pulled back, she smiled up at him. "I love you, too."  
  
He smiled and climbed off the bed. As he walked toward the door, she suddenly sat up. "Wait, it's our first day waking up together as official shacker-uppers."  
  
Luke turned to her and laughed. "Shacker-uppers? Is that the technical term?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and slowly climbed out of bed. She walked over to her chair and grabbed her robe, then walked back to him. "Yes, it is, and the first rule of the shacking-up handbook is the obligatory shower together that happens on the first day you wake up as shacker-uppers."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yup. Now, of course, in most normal houses, it doesn't happen at this insane hour on a Sunday, but dare to be different, right?"  
  
Luke smiled. "Right." Luke opened the bedroom door and they walked to the bathroom.  
  
* * *  
  
Thirty minutes later, the bathroom door opened and they both walked out; Luke was fully dressed, Lorelai was in her robe. They walked to their bedroom and Lorelai collapsed on the bed. Luke sat on the edge of it and pulled his shoes on, then walked over to his dresser. He stuck his wallet in his back pocket and fastened his watch on, then picked up his baseball cap and placed it on his slightly damp hair.  
  
He walked over to Lorelai. "Okay, I'm leaving. You coming in for breakfast?"  
  
She shrugged. "Not sure yet. I'll probably be in sometime today, though."  
  
"Okay." Luke leaned down and kissed her. "Bye."  
  
"Bye." Lorelai closed her eyes and pulled the covers over herself as Luke walked out of the bedroom and pulled the door shut behind him.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 32  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Lorelai walked into the kitchen and knocked on Rory's bedroom door. "Rory!" she called. When there was no answer, she pushed open the door and peeked inside. Seeing that Rory wasn't in there, she closed the door and walked over to the coffee maker, which someone had left on to keep the coffee hot for her. Next to it sat a note from Rory saying she had gone to Lane's. Lorelai poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.  
  
She rested her elbows on the table and closed her eyes, still not completely awake yet. When she heard footsteps rumbling down the staircase, she opened her eyes, and moments later saw Jess walking down the hallway. He stopped at the entryway to the kitchen when he saw Lorelai at the table. "Oh," he said, burying his hands in his pockets. "I didn't think anyone else was here."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I'm the only one." Jess nodded and shifted his feet, and there was an awkward pause before Lorelai asked, "So. . . did you sleep okay?"  
  
"Not bad," he replied.  
  
"Good." Lorelai nodded and took a sip of her coffee. She set the cup back down and asked, "Uh, did you eat breakfast?"  
  
"Nah, I just got up." Jess walked to the refrigerator and pulled it open.  
  
"Yeah, me too." Lorelai stood up and walked over to a cabinet. She pulled it open and grabbed a box of cereal. "Hey, can you grab me the milk?"  
  
She grabbed a bowl from a nearby cabinet as Jess glanced at the box of cereal she was holding. "Yeah, can you get me a bowl?"  
  
Lorelai, who had just shut the cabinet door, said, "Oh. . .yeah." She opened it back up and grabbed another bowl.  
  
After opening three drawers unsuccessfully, Jess finally found the silverware drawer and grabbed two spoons. They brought everything to the table and poured themselves bowls of cereals. Lorelai sat back down in her seat and Jess slid into the chair across from her.  
  
They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Lorelai poured herself a second bowl and glanced at Jess. "You want more?" she asked, holding up the box.  
  
He shook his head. "Not yet. Not everyone inhales their food like you do."  
  
Lorelai set the box back down and smirked. "You're just jealous," she said knowingly.  
  
"Jealous of your ability to eat fast?" Jess asked, rolling his eyes. "Wow, you're right - you got me."  
  
"I knew it," she said with a shrug. "Everyone aspires to be like me."  
  
"Yeah, we get tons of people coming into the bookstore looking for the "How to Be Like Lorelai Gilmore" manual. We just can't seem to keep 'em on the shelves," Jess said.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "See, I knew it would be a big seller one of these days."  
  
Jess smirked and glanced down at his bowl.  
  
Lorelai took a sip of her coffee and stared at him for a second. "So . . .do you really hate it here?"  
  
Jess looked up. "What?"  
  
"Here, Stars Hollow - do you hate it?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Jess shrugged and aimlessly stirred his cereal around in his bowl.  
  
Lorelai shoved a spoonful in her mouth and watched him. "So. . . what does that mean?" she asked.  
  
Jess didn't look up. "Take it however you want."  
  
"I'd take it as a no," Lorelai replied. When Jess didn't reply, Lorelai cleared her throat. "So, uh, work's okay?"  
  
"Yup," he replied. He reached for the cereal box and poured himself a second bowl.  
  
"Good, good," Lorelai said, nodding. "So - "  
  
Jess looked up and interrupted, "Look, for some reason, you think you have to make conversation with me, so let me just set you straight and tell you that you really don't have to. I'm perfectly fine eating in silence."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "I'm not doing it because I think I have to. Unlike you, I hate eating in silence and since you're the only one here, you get to be the recipient of all my annoying questions and babble."  
  
"Well, maybe you should just pretend no one's here because I'm not really in a small talking mood this morning," Jess said.  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "You really want me to pretend you're not here?"  
  
Jess nodded.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay, no problem. . . la la la. . . pretending you're not here now." She ate a few bites of her cereal, then picked up her spoon and said, "So Spoony, what are you doing today?" She paused and brought it to her ear. "Oh really, you're going to the movies with Forky? That sounds like fun. What are you gonna see?"  
  
Jess slowly lifted his head up and stared at her.  
  
She continued, "Ooh, yeah, if you enjoy the Scooby Doo cartoon on television, I think you'll like the movie." She put her spoon down and picked up her mug. "And Mugsy, what are you doing today? Are you gonna - "  
  
"What the heck are you doing?" Jess interrupted.  
  
Lorelai put down her mug and shrugged. "Pretending that no one's here."  
  
Jess raised his eyebrows and gave her a strange look. "When no one's here, you talk to the objects around you?" Lorelai smiled and nodded, and Jess shook his head slightly toward the table. "Oh geez," he muttered.  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Now, if the person who's not sitting across from me is finished, I'll continue with my conversation." She picked up the cereal box. "Toucan Sam, how are you feeling this morning?" She paused a moment, then gasped and frowned. "A touch under the weather? Aw, I'm so sorry to hear that. Try not to get Tony the Tiger sick, okay? He has big plans with Mrs. Butterworth later. Yes, I know she's married. . .believe me, I told him to stay away from her, but you know how Tony gets sometimes." Jess let out a small laugh and continued eating his cereal.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Lorelai and Sookie walked into the diner and sat down at the counter. They talked for a few minutes until Luke walked out of the kitchen carrying several plates. He smiled as he walked past them and delivered the plates to a table, then returned to the counter and stood in front of them. "Hey."  
  
"Hey Luke," Sookie said. "Heard you have a death wish."  
  
"What?" he asked with a confused look.  
  
She gestured toward Lorelai. "You plan on waking her up every weekend at six? That's a huge argument waiting to happen."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Don't worry - after a few weeks, he'll see the crankiness building up and figure out some way to correct this little problem. Like, he could possibly get an alarm installed inside of his head so that only he can hear it."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "It might be a tad easier to just arrange for someone else to open up for me on the weekends."  
  
"Hmm, that's probably safer than the brain surgery I suggested," Lorelai said, nodding.  
  
"I'll see what I can do," Luke said. He pulled his pad out of his waistband. "You eating?"  
  
"Yes," Sookie replied. "BLT."  
  
"Burger," Lorelai replied.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes as he wrote it down. "Right. Coming up. Drinks?"  
  
"Water for me," Sookie replied.  
  
"Coffee," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke brought them their drinks, then walked into the kitchen. Sookie and Lorelai talked for a few minutes until Taylor walked over and set a piece of paper down on the counter. "Afternoon, ladies," Taylor said.  
  
Surprised, they looked up. "Oh, hey Taylor," Lorelai said.  
  
Sookie picked up the paper. "What's this?"  
  
"Well, there's been some concern from the Stars Hollow Community Council that we don't have enough summer festivals," Taylor said.  
  
Lorelai's mouth dropped open slightly. "Not enough festivals?"  
  
"That's right, so this is a flyer explaining that tonight at the town meeting there will be a vote on what kind of new festival we should institute," Taylor explained. "Any suggestions?"  
  
"Ooh, I'm all for some sort of festival where hot shirtless guys massage all the women for free," Lorelai said excitedly.  
  
Taylor rolled his eyes. "I don't think so. We're looking for suggestions that have to do with summer, such as my proposal - a summer fruit and vegetable festival."  
  
Lorelai groaned. "Ugh, a whole festival devoted to healthy food? Puh- lease."  
  
Taylor frowned. "And I suppose you have a better suggestion?"  
  
"Yes, I do. The First Annual Stars Hollow Chocolate Festival," she said proudly.  
  
"A chocolate festival?" Taylor asked, wrinkling his forehead. "Um, I don't know if that's quite what we're looking for."  
  
"Why not? You wanted to do a healthy festival, why can't there be an unhealthy festival?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke walked out of the kitchen and glanced curiously at them. "What's going on? What are those?" he asked, pointing to the stack of flyers on the counter.  
  
"Flyers for the town meeting tonight," Taylor said. "Which, by the way, starts at seven instead of the usual eight o'clock starting time. Make a note so you're not late."  
  
"You know I don't allow flyers in here, Taylor," Luke said sternly. "Get 'em outta here."  
  
"Luke, we need to inform the residents that there will be a vote at the meeting tonight, and that they should come with suggestions for the new festival," Taylor explained.  
  
"New festival? My God, you really think this town needs another stupid festival?" Luke exclaimed.  
  
Lorelai put her hand over Luke's mouth. "Shh, I'm in the middle of something here." She turned to Taylor. "So, what's wrong with my idea?"  
  
Luke pushed her hand away. "What idea?"  
  
"Shh!" she said, waving him off. Luke rolled his eyes and walked away. Lorelai repeated, "What's wrong with it, Taylor?"  
  
"Well, I just don't think the town will find a chocolate festival to be a good representation of summer," Taylor said.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Oh my God, you couldn't be more wrong. I'm suggesting it at the meeting tonight, I bet people will love it."  
  
Taylor shrugged. "Okay, you can suggest it, but I don't know if the townspeople will go for it." He picked up his stack of flyers and walked away.  
  
Lorelai turned to Sookie and smiled. "Oh my God, a chocolate festival! This is gonna be so fun!"  
  
"Well, you haven't gotten it approved yet, hon," she pointed out.  
  
Lorelai smirked. "No, but everyone loves chocolate."  
  
Luke walked out of the kitchen and set their plates in front of them. "I don't," he said.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "That's because you're weird."  
  
"Thank you," Luke replied. "Now what was all that talk with Taylor about?"  
  
"I'm suggesting that the next town function be a festival dedicated to chocolate," Lorelai said as she ate a fry.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Right, because the Annual Stars Hollow Summer Barbecue isn't unhealthy enough, we need to have a completely new festival that's even worse."  
  
"Oh, come on, it'll be so great! Brownies, cakes, cookies, pudding, cupcakes, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate candy. . .there's so many different things people can bring," Lorelai said excitedly. "It'll be so fun."  
  
"Yeah, for you," Luke said dryly. "What part of it is fun for me?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and leaned forward on the counter. "The part that directly follows this sentence - 'Luke, I had too much chocolate and now I can't fall asleep, what should we do all night?'"  
  
Luke's face tightened and he gave an embarrassed glance toward Sookie. He shifted his feet uncomfortably. "Yeah, well, have fun - I'm certainly not going."  
  
"Sure you are," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Uh, no, I'm pretty sure I'm not," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "You'll still make something chocolate to contribute, won't you? Please, please, please!" She tilted her head to the side and pouted.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "If I have time."  
  
"Thank you." Lorelai smiled. She took a bite of her burger and chewed it slowly. When she was finished, she said, "You know, you still have boxes to unpack."  
  
Luke nodded. "I know, we'll get to them later. What are you guys doing after lunch?"  
  
"We're going shopping and then we're gonna pick up someone's wedding dress," Lorelai said, smiling toward Sookie.  
  
Sookie giggled excitedly. "I can't wait to see it again!"  
  
Luke smiled and nodded. "Sounds good." He exhaled loudly and gestured over his shoulder. "Okay, I gotta get back in the kitchen."  
  
Lorelai took a bite of her burger, then nodded. "See you later," she mumbled through her mouthful of food.  
  
"Bye." Luke nodded toward Sookie before he turned around and walked into the kitchen.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that afternoon, Lorelai and Sookie walked into Lorelai's house. Lorelai was carrying several shopping bags and Sookie was carrying her wedding dress in a closed garment bag. They brought everything upstairs to Lorelai's bedroom, and Lorelai tossed the bags on the bed, then made room for the dress in her closet. As Sookie hung up the dress, she said, "I really appreciate you letting me keep it here."  
  
"Aw, it's no trouble." Lorelai smiled and walked over to her mirror. She ran her brush through her hair, then said, "Okay, ready to go to your house?"  
  
Sookie and Lorelai walked down the steps and out the front door. As they walked toward the Jeep, Lorelai said, "You know what, I don't think we got the mail yesterday."  
  
"You were probably too busy with moving and stuff," Sookie said.  
  
"Yeah, let me get it now," Lorelai said. She walked to the mailbox and opened it up. She pulled out a few bills, a magazine, and a small package, then Sookie followed her as she brought the mail into the house and set it on the kitchen table.  
  
Lorelai picked up the small package. "Oh, I think these are our new checks," she said. She ripped off the letter attached to the front and opened it. She read through it silently, her eyes widening slightly when she got to the bottom of the page.  
  
Sookie noticed the change in Lorelai's expression. "What's wrong?"  
  
Lorelai lowered the paper and said, "Oh my God." She stared straight ahead for a moment, then brought the paper back up to her face and read it again. "Oh my God," she repeated. She lowered the paper and smiled at Sookie.  
  
"What is it?" Sookie asked.  
  
"Our new account balance," Lorelai said. "You know, they combined mine and Luke's accounts so it's all one big account now."  
  
"And?" Sookie prompted.  
  
Lorelai laughed slightly. "Uh, well, it's a lot more than I thought it was gonna be."  
  
"A lot more?" Sookie asked. "Like how much more?"  
  
"Um, like four times more," Lorelai said as she stared at the number on the paper. "Oh my God."  
  
Sookie giggled. "Too bad you didn't find that out 'til after we went shopping."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Sookie, I can't believe he had that much money in his account."  
  
"Honey, the guy has a successful business, he rarely goes shopping or buys anything for himself - it makes sense that it would add up after awhile," Sookie deduced.  
  
Lorelai slowly nodded in agreement, though her face still showed signs of shock. She smiled at the paper and shook her head slightly. "Wow."  
  
Sookie took the letter from her and shoved it back into the envelope, then dropped it on the table. "Okay, before you decide to exploit your newfound riches by running out to buy a car, let's go finish Rory's dress." Lorelai nodded aimlessly as Sookie grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the front door.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, after Taylor had officially ended the town meeting, Lorelai stood up and clapped excitedly. She tapped Luke on the shoulder. "I told you! I knew they would go for a chocolate festival!"  
  
Luke stood up. "No, remember what the committee said - it's a general dessert festival, not just a chocolate one. You have to include other non- chocolate products for those people who might be allergic to chocolate."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. Chocolate will definitely be the predominant flavor, so I'm still calling it the chocolate festival." She turned to Rory. "Does your mom come up with the best ideas or what?"  
  
Rory smiled. "Yes, she does. I can't believe they scheduled it for this weekend though - that doesn't give people much time to make stuff."  
  
"Oh, it'll be plenty of time," Lorelai said. "It doesn't take long to make stuff."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "How would you know? You never make stuff."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Huh, that's true." She turned to Luke. "Does it take long to make stuff?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "Nope."  
  
"See?" Lorelai said to Rory. "It doesn't take long to make stuff."  
  
"Okay, you've now said the phrase 'make stuff' enough times to officially wear it out for the rest of the year," Luke pointed out. "Can we go home now?"  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Yeah, let's go home and *make stuff*," she said, emphasizing the phrase loudly. Rory laughed as they walked out of the dance studio and headed back to their house.  
  
When they arrived home, they found Jess on the couch watching television, his feet resting comfortably on the coffee table. Lorelai stood at the entryway to the living room and gasped. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked loudly.  
  
Startled, Jess jumped and quickly removed his feet from the table. He turned and saw Lorelai glaring at him. "Geez, sorry," he mumbled.  
  
Lorelai dropped her purse on the floor and exclaimed, "I can't believe you're watching The Princess Bride without us!" She ran over to the couch and sat down. "Rory, come on!"  
  
"Ooh!" Rory exclaimed. She walked over and sat down next to Lorelai, and they stared intently at the screen. Jess glanced at them with an amused look before he brought his gaze back to the television. A few seconds later, the three of them almost simultaneously put their feet up on the coffee table.  
  
Luke stood near the staircase watching them. He shook his head slightly, then cleared his throat. "Lorelai?"  
  
"Shhh!" she hushed him loudly and waved him off. "Our favorite line's coming up." A few seconds later, Lorelai and Rory recited with the television, "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." They giggled and continued watching the movie.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly. "Okay, I'm gonna start unpacking the rest of the boxes. . .by myself. . .with no help."  
  
"Okay, have fun," Lorelai replied distractedly, her eyes glued to the television set. Luke walked out onto the front porch and started going through one of the boxes.  
  
A few minutes later, Lorelai walked out onto the porch. "Hey."  
  
"Tore yourself away from the movie long enough to help?" Luke asked.  
  
She smiled. "Yup, wasn't that nice of me?"  
  
"Extremely," Luke said. He stood up and carried a box toward the shed, and Lorelai followed him.  
  
"What's in the box?" Lorelai asked. Luke walked into the shed and Lorelai leaned against the doorframe.  
  
"Uh, just some extra tools and stuff," Luke answered as he set the box down. He walked back across the lawn to the front porch, and Lorelai followed him. As he started going through another box, he suddenly looked up at her. "Uh, were you gonna actually help or did you just come out here for moral support?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Moral support."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and went back to rummaging through the box. "Oh, this box goes in our bedroom."  
  
"What is it?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Some free weights and stuff," Luke replied as he picked up the box. "Can you get the door?"  
  
Lorelai pulled open the front door and they walked inside. As Luke started carrying the box upstairs, Lorelai detoured to the kitchen where she grabbed the box of checks and the accompanying letter, then walked up to her bedroom.  
  
Luke was kneeling next to his dressers unloading his weights as Lorelai walked in and sat on the edge of the bed. "Hey, uh, our new checks came in."  
  
"Oh yeah?" he replied, not looking up. "Took 'em long enough. They were supposed to be here last week."  
  
"Yeah, well, it probably just took them awhile to move your million dollars worth of funds into a new account," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke stopped and looked up. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Lorelai pulled out the letter and held it out to him. "I'm talking about this."  
  
He stood up and sat next to her on the bed before he took the letter and read through it. When he finished, he shrugged and handed it back to her. "What about it?"  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "What about it? Luke, what. . .why. . .how do you have this much money in your account?"  
  
He narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?"  
  
Lorelai looked down at the paper. "Man, this totally explains the big expensive weekend getaway and the offer to pay for Chilton and - ."  
  
"Okay, stop," Luke interrupted, holding up his hand. "What's the problem here?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "There's no problem. . .it's not a problem. I'm just not used to looking at my account balance and seeing that I could easily go and buy out the women's department of Bloomingdale's."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Okay, first of all, you're completely exaggerating, and second of all, just because the money's there doesn't mean you have to go out and spend it. That's why the money's there in the first place - because I don't run out and spend it the minute I make it. I know how to manage it and build it up - and hopefully that's not gonna all come to a crashing halt now that you have access to it, right?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Right, right, sure. Don't worry about me." She stood up. "Now I have to go call out of work tomorrow so I can drive to New York and hit Saks and Tiffany's."  
  
Luke stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. "Okay, maybe a joint checking account wasn't the best idea we ever had."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "No, no, I promise I won't go crazy."  
  
"Good." Luke kneeled back down and continued unloading his weights.  
  
Lorelai picked up the box of checks and opened it. "Ooh, the clouds look really pretty. Look at 'em."  
  
"Okay, before I look, you will take back the word pretty," Luke said. "I refuse to have pretty checks."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Sorry - these checks look so manly," she said in a deep voice.  
  
She held out the checkbook toward him and he turned to look at them. He stared at the pattern for a minute, then narrowed his eyes. "You know, that cloud pattern looks familiar. Don't you have - " his voice trailed off as Lorelai dropped the checkbook on the bed and unzipped her denim shorts. She pulled them down slightly, revealing the cloud pattern on her underwear. Luke smiled. "Okay, I know what I'll be thinking about when I'm paying bills from now on."  
  
Lorelai giggled and pulled her shorts back up. "I know. That was going to be my argument if you had originally disagreed with my cloud choice. . .but you didn't."  
  
"Yeah, well, I must've subconsciously recognized the design and decided to just go along with it," Luke said. He turned back to his box and took out the last dumbbell. He stood up and said, "Okay, let's go finish those boxes. Maybe you can actually help this time instead of just watching?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "We'll see."  
  
* * *  
  
A few days later, Luke walked through the front door just as Lorelai and Rory were getting ready to walk out. Luke dropped his keys on the table by the door and said, "Hey."  
  
"Hey Luke," Rory said.  
  
"Hi," Lorelai said, kissing him on the cheek. "Girls' night out, bye!" She and Rory rushed past him out the front door.  
  
Luke followed them out the door and stood on the porch. They were already halfway across the yard. "Where you going?" he called.  
  
Lorelai turned around while she continued walking backward toward the Jeep. "We're not sure yet. We're gonna drive around the nearby towns until we see something to do. See you later!" She and Rory climbed into the Jeep and drove away.  
  
Luke walked back into the house and into the kitchen where Jess was staring into the refrigerator. "Hey," Luke said.  
  
Jess turned and looked at him. "Hey."  
  
"Not working tonight?" Luke asked.  
  
"Nope, got the afternoon shift this week," Jess replied. He shut the refrigerator, then walked over to a cabinet and pulled it open. He pulled out a package of Pop Tarts, then walked over to the toaster and put them in. He leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest as he waited for them.  
  
Luke walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. He took a long sip, then leaned against the fridge and said, "So. . . you liking it here so far? I mean, this house?"  
  
Jess shrugged. "It's not so bad."  
  
"Yeah, it's nice having more than one room to hang out in, huh?"  
  
"Guess so."  
  
"And you and Lorelai are. . .getting along, right?" Luke asked.  
  
"Oh, yeah, we even exchanged friendship bracelets," he replied.  
  
"Jess," Luke said sternly. "Come on, just give me a few minutes of normal talking, okay?"  
  
Jess sighed and pursed his lips. "Yes, we're getting along."  
  
"Good," Luke replied. "Good."  
  
* * *  
  
As Lorelai drove toward the highway, she gave a quick glance toward Rory and said, "Can I ask you something?"  
  
"You just did," Rory replied.  
  
"Ha, you're funny," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Serious question?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," Rory replied. "What is it?"  
  
"How are you adjusting to having the guys there? I mean, are you okay with everything?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine with it," Rory said.  
  
"Rory," Lorelai said, narrowing her eyes at her. "Don't tell me what you think I wanna hear. I want an honest answer."  
  
"I swear I'm not lying," Rory insisted. "I'm perfectly fine with everything. I mean, it's still a little weird to wake up and. . .you know, see a guy sitting at the kitchen table, but it's not a bad weird."  
  
"Good weird?" Lorelai suggested.  
  
"Is there such a thing?" Rory asked.  
  
"Luke and I decided yes," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Okay, well, then it's a good weird," Rory said. "It's just different. It'll take some getting used to."  
  
"But you like it so far?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah, it's cool having more people around," Rory said. "And as long as we maintain the 'males and females have separate laundry' rule, I'll be fine. I'd rather Luke wasn't the one washing my intimate apparel, thank you."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Don't worry - I think the feeling's mutual."  
  
Rory smiled. "What about you? Are you liking it so far?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I love it."  
  
"Even having to share your bed?" Rory asked.  
  
"Especially. . .having to share my bed," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows and smiling slyly.  
  
Rory wrinkled her nose. "Knew I shouldn't have gone in that direction."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Sorry. But yeah, it's been really fun so far. And the fact that Luke can make us breakfast in the morning is just icing on the cake."  
  
Rory smiled. "Yeah, it was weird waking up to the smell of food yesterday."  
  
"But it was great," Lorelai said. They were quiet for a moment before she turned to Rory and said, "Another serious question?"  
  
Rory nodded. "What?"  
  
Lorelai looked at Rory seriously for a moment, then asked, "Do I have something in my teeth?" She clenched her teeth together and grinned at Rory.  
  
Rory laughed and shook her head. "No, you're good."  
  
Lorelai turned back to the road. "Okay, thanks."  
  
Rory turned the radio on and switched quickly through the stations until she finally found a song she liked. She blasted the volume, then yelled over the noise, "Where are we going?"  
  
"I don't know!" Lorelai yelled back with a shrug.  
  
* * *  
  
Slightly before eleven, Lorelai and Rory pulled up to their house and walked quietly inside. "Night Mom," Rory whispered, kissing her on the cheek.  
  
"Night hon," Lorelai replied. Rory walked to her bedroom and Lorelai walked upstairs to hers. She quietly pushed open the door to her bedroom, trying hard not to wake Luke. However, when she walked in, she saw that he was still awake, lying in bed watching the small television that sat on her dresser.  
  
Luke smiled up at her. "Hey." He picked up the remote and turned off the television, then sat up in the bed.  
  
"Hey." Lorelai smiled at him as she shut the door. She tossed her purse in the bottom of the closet, then sat down on the bed next to him. He pressed his lips against hers, starting a deep, passionate kiss that didn't end until she had to break for air. As she pulled back from him, she panted for a few seconds to catch her breath, then smiled and said, "I'd ask why you were still up, but I think I just found out."  
  
Luke smirked. "Yeah, well, I haven't seen you all day." He leaned forward and kissed her again. As he pulled back from her, he ran his hands down her arms and asked, "Where did you guys go?"  
  
"Danbury," Lorelai replied, climbing off the bed. She pulled off her shirt and tossed it on the floor.  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "Danbury? What did you do there?"  
  
She kicked off her sandals, then unzipped her shorts and slid them off. She smiled and said, "Auditioned for a play."  
  
Luke laughed. "What?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "We drove past this little theater and there was a sign out front that said they were holding open auditions. So, first, I spent a few minutes trying to convince Rory to do it with me, then, after bribing her with ten bucks, we went in and gave them fake names and addresses, then did a scene from The Wizard of Oz."  
  
Luke laughed. "Which scene?"  
  
"Duh, the scene where Dorothy meets Glinda the good witch," she said as if it was obvious.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh, of course, I should've known." He smiled and shook his head slightly. "I can't believe you. You know you're crazy, don't you?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yes, I do. And then we went out for dinner, and then we were walking around and we found this old movie theater and they were having a Marlon Brando marathon, so we caught some of that, and then we got ice cream and came home." She smiled. "Oh God, Luke, we had so much fun."  
  
"Sounds like it," Luke smiled.  
  
Lorelai pulled the clip out of her hair and set it on her dresser. "What did you do?"  
  
"Uh, nothing much. I ate dinner, lifted some weights, watched a little tv," Luke replied.  
  
"Aw, sounds like I had more fun than you," Lorelai said. She undid her bra and dropped it to the floor, then sauntered over to him. She pushed him down on the bed and climbed on top of him, straddling his waist. "I'll try to make it up to you."  
  
Luke smiled and ran his hands over her thighs. "I'd appreciate that."  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Lorelai rolled off of him and fell onto her back on the bed. Her chest heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath. A few seconds later, she climbed off the bed, pulled on her robe, and walked into the bathroom. When she returned to the bedroom a few minutes later, she locked the door, tossed her robe aside and climbed back under the covers. She snuggled up against him and rested her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arm around her. "So, let me ask again, how was your night?" Lorelai asked. "Fun?"  
  
"Yes, I'd have to say that I did have some of the, uh, magic f-word," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai laughed and lifted her head up to look at him. "Wow, look at you going for the double meaning there."  
  
Luke smiled and kissed her. "Night."  
  
"Night." Lorelai rested her head back against his chest and closed her eyes.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 33  
  
* * *  
  
The next night after work, Lorelai walked into the diner. Rory was already waiting at a table, and Lorelai walked over and sat down. "Hey."  
  
"Hey," Rory replied. She stared at Lorelai curiously for a moment, then asked, "Are you okay?"  
  
Lorelai hung her purse on the back of her chair and shrugged. "Yeah, just tired."  
  
"Aw, you need coffee," Rory said.  
  
"Or a shot of vodka," Lorelai replied.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "I don't think they serve it here."  
  
"Yeah, well, I'll suggest it to Luke later. I'm sure it'd be a big seller," Lorelai said. "How much time do you have? When's Dean coming home?"  
  
"He said he'd be home around 5:30," Rory said. She checked her watch. "So fifteen minutes."  
  
Lorelai nodded and glanced toward the counter, impatiently waiting for someone to wait on her. "Geez, the one day I'm craving coffee there's no one around."  
  
Rory laughed. "The one day you're craving coffee? Don't get me started on how incredibly inconsistent with the truth that sentence is."  
  
"Shush you," Lorelai frowned. Lorelai noticed a bag sitting on the floor next to Rory's chair. "What's that?"  
  
Rory picked it up. "Oh, I stopped at the bookstore before I came here. Picked up some things for me and a welcome home book for Dean."  
  
"Oh, boyfriends love that. Nothing says 'welcome home, I missed you' like a good novel," Lorelai said, nodding knowingly.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "Yes, he will love it, but I kinda spent the money I had planned to use for dinner, so. . .can I borrow some so I don't have to walk back home?"  
  
Lorelai grimaced slightly. "Ooh, I don't know if I have much on me. Let me check." She set her purse on the table in front of her and started rummaging through it. She pulled out a few wrinkled dollars. "Sorry, this is all I have." She glanced up as Luke walked over with two cups of coffee. "Ooh, but maybe Luke has some."  
  
"Some what?" he asked, setting the coffee cups down. He leaned down and kissed Lorelai on the cheek. "Hey."  
  
"Hi," she replied. She took a long sip of coffee, then gestured toward Rory. "Rory needs some money for dinner with Dean and I'm all out."  
  
Rory's eyes widened. "No, no, that's okay. I can just stop home and get some more."  
  
Luke pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. "How much do you need?"  
  
"No, it's fine," Rory insisted. "I can just go home real quick."  
  
"It's a waste to go home to get something that I have right here," Luke said.  
  
"Rory, whether you get it from me or Luke, it's all the same money," Lorelai said with a shrug.  
  
Luke nodded and pulled out a twenty. "Here," he said, holding it out to Rory.  
  
Rory bit her lip momentarily. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Honey, you have five seconds to take it before I claim it for myself," Lorelai said with a laugh.  
  
Rory took the money and smiled. "Thanks Luke."  
  
"No problem," he said, sliding his wallet back into his pocket. "So you're going out to eat, huh? Does that mean you're not ordering?"  
  
"Nope, not tonight," Rory replied.  
  
Luke nodded and turned to Lorelai. "So that means you're eating alone. You want a burger?"  
  
"No. . . actually, I think I'm gonna go home and order a pizza," Lorelai said.  
  
"You're not eating either? So the point of you two meeting here at dinner time was. . ." Luke prompted.  
  
"Coffee fix," Rory informed him, and Lorelai nodded in agreement.  
  
"Right, okay. . .so, I guess I'll see you at home," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Bye."  
  
"Bye Luke," Rory said. She waved the twenty-dollar bill and said, "Thanks for this."  
  
Luke nodded. "You're welcome." He turned and walked back toward the kitchen.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Luke came home and found Lorelai curled up in the corner of the couch reading a book. He dropped his keys on the hall table, then walked over to her. "Hey."  
  
Lorelai looked up from the book. "Hey." He was carrying a takeout cup from the diner. "Ooh, is that for me?" she asked hopefully.  
  
Luke held it out toward her. "Yeah."  
  
Lorelai smiled and took it from him. "Thanks." She took a long sip and moaned happily. "Mmm, that's good."  
  
Luke sat down next to her. "What are you reading?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Oh my God, only the greatest book in the history of the world." She showed him the cover.  
  
"Motley Crue," Luke read. "Huh - so it's good?"  
  
"It's excellent. You have to read it," Lorelai said. She glanced at the page number. "I'm on page 182, remember that." She shut the book and placed it on the coffee table, then stretched her legs out across his lap. He immediately started running his hands over them as she took another sip of coffee. She swallowed her mouthful, then set the cup on the coffee table. "How was work?"  
  
"It was fine," Luke replied, keeping his gaze on her legs. "What did you do?"  
  
"Not much," she replied with a shrug. "Ordered pizza, watched a little tv, read a little. Oh, and Chris called. We set up Rory's first visit."  
  
"Oh yeah? When is it?" Luke asked.  
  
"Next week," Lorelai said. "Saturday to Wednesday. He has some business trip on Thursday morning so he's gonna drop her off on Wednesday night on the way there."  
  
Luke nodded. "Does he want us to drive her up on Saturday?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "I offered, but he said he can come get her." Lorelai smiled. "You know what this means?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"We'll have the entire house to ourselves for a few days next week," Lorelai said. "I mean, it looks like Jess'll be moving back to the apartment, and Rory'll be in Boston. . ."  
  
Luke smiled. "And the wheels are already turning in your head thinking up ideas about how to fill every second of that time, aren't they?"  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Maybe."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I knew it. So what's the first thing that comes to mind?"  
  
"Well, I was thinking we can do this whole sorta movie theme. Like, first, we can smuggle an endangered lizard into another state for the Mafia. Then we can rent a huge ship and you can run around yelling that you're the king of the world. Then - my personal favorite - we can reenact a scene from 9 ½ Weeks, and then maybe - " Lorelai stopped talking when she heard the front door open.  
  
"I'm home!" Rory called as she closed the door behind her.  
  
"Right here, hon," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory walked into the living room, carrying her bag from the bookstore. "Hey."  
  
"Hey. How was your night?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Rory sat down in the armchair across from them. "Great. We went out for dinner and I gave him the book, which he loved," she said, making a face at Lorelai. "Then we went back to his house and watched a movie."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Watched a movie? Uh huh."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "His parents were home."  
  
"Well, that never stopped me," Lorelai said with a shrug. "You're living proof of that."  
  
Rory glanced down at the coffee table. "Ooh, how's that Motley Crue book?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Excellent! You can borrow it when I'm done."  
  
"Cool. What page are you on?" Rory asked.  
  
"Uh. . ." Lorelai glanced down at it questioningly, biting her lip. "Um. . ."  
  
"One eighty-two," Luke finally answered for her.  
  
Lorelai looked at him and smiled. "Thank you." She turned back to Rory. "One eighty-two. I'm almost halfway done"  
  
Rory nodded. "Did Dad call?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yup. You're going up there next Saturday and he's gonna bring you back on Wednesday."  
  
Rory smiled. "Wow, that's so soon."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah."  
  
Rory paused a moment. "Are you. . .gonna be okay? I mean, five days. . ."  
  
Lorelai waved her off. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I have my manly man here to smack me when I start getting weepy," she said, patting Luke on the shoulder.  
  
Rory smiled and stood up. "Good, that's good." She started walking toward her bedroom, then said, "Oh." She turned around and dug into her pocket and pulled out some money. "Here's the change, Luke." She walked over and held it out to him. "Thanks."  
  
He shook his head. "No, keep it. You've still got a couple inches of space in that room for another book or two."  
  
"But I - " Rory started.  
  
Luke held up his hand. "I mean it, just keep it, really."  
  
Lorelai reached for it. "Hell, I'll keep it. Give it to me."  
  
Rory pulled it away from her and smiled at Luke. "Thanks."  
  
Luke nodded. "You're welcome."  
  
Rory slipped the money back into her pocket. "Okay, I'll be in my room." She walked to her bedroom and closed the door behind her.  
  
Luke stood up from the couch, and Lorelai grabbed his hand. "Where are you going? We're not done discussing the itinerary for the 'Luke and Lorelai will have the house to themselves for a long time and need fun things to do' extravaganza."  
  
"I'm gonna take a shower," Luke said, pulling his hand away. "Go find a pen and write down your ideas and show it to me later, during which time I'm sure ninety-five percent of them will be eliminated for being too ridiculous."  
  
"So the 'ordering pizza and then answering the door naked just to see the look on the delivery guy's face' idea?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke groaned and rolled his eyes. "Don't even bother writing it down."  
  
Lorelai frowned and picked up her book from the coffee table. Luke started walking toward the stairs as Lorelai flipped open the book. Luke was halfway up the steps when Lorelai looked up and said, "Luke, what - "  
  
"One eighty-two," he replied without stopping.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
* * *  
  
That Friday night before dinner, Emily handed Lorelai and Rory their drinks, then sat across from them on the couch with Richard. "So, Rory, what have you been doing with all the free time you've had this week?" Emily asked.  
  
"Oh, I've been helping Mom at the inn," Rory said.  
  
"Well, that's good to hear," Richard said. "Instilling a sense of business at this age is a very wise move."  
  
"Yes, but she's still a teenager," Emily said. "She shouldn't be working all the time."  
  
"Oh, don't worry, I don't work all the time," Rory said.  
  
"No, only a few hours a day," Lorelai said. "She's gotta earn a few bucks to support her addictions. Do you guys have any idea how much heroin costs these days?" Lorelai shook her head and sighed. "It's a sad, sad world when you can't even find a reasonable dealer anywhere. I tell ya, sometimes I just want to go into that business myself and - "  
  
"Uh, Mom," Rory interrupted, patting Lorelai on the knee. She gestured to Emily and Richard. "The looks on their faces are telling me that they want you to stop talking."  
  
"Thank you, Rory," Emily replied, rolling her eyes and taking a sip of wine.  
  
"Well, as inane as that one-sided heroin conversation was, it does bring up a good subject," Richard said.  
  
"That there's a huge market out there for would-be drug dealers?" Lorelai suggested.  
  
Richard groaned. "No - going into business for myself."  
  
"What?" Lorelai asked, surprised.  
  
"Well, it's an idea that Emily and I have tossed around the past few days," Richard said.  
  
Emily nodded. "Yes, I think it's a fabulous idea. He hates being retired and he doesn't want to go back to his old job, so the next viable solution was to start a whole new venture."  
  
"Wow, that's cool, Grandpa," Rory said, smiling.  
  
"Yeah, Dad - but what would you do?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Well, I'm not exactly sure yet," Richard said. "I have a bit more research to do, some options to explore, but it's definitely something that I can see happening very soon."  
  
Emily smiled and patted Richard on the knee. "Yes, soon would be good."  
  
Richard rolled his eyes and explained, "Uh, Emily's just a little tired of having me around the house."  
  
Emily gasped. "That's not true - I just want you to be happy, and the sooner you start this new venture, the sooner you'll be happy, that's all."  
  
Richard smirked and nodded. "Mmhmm." He took a sip of his drink and sat back against the couch.  
  
"So, Lorelai, what's new with you?" Emily asked, changing the subject. "How's Luke?"  
  
"Fine, I'm fine, he's fine," Lorelai replied, nodding. "We're all pretty much. . .you know. . .fine."  
  
"Last week you mentioned that Saturday was the day he was moving in," Emily said. "So, I'm assuming he did, in fact, move in?"  
  
"Yes, he did," Lorelai replied. "He and Jess have been living with us all week. It's like a big slumber party that never ends."  
  
Emily shook her head slightly. "I'm still not sure about how I feel about all this. I still think it's way too soon for such a move."  
  
Lorelai took a sip of her wine, then set her glass on the coffee table and sighed loudly. "Okay, I'm so tempted to just start singing a Ramones song at the top of my lungs right now because sedation would be the easiest way for me to deal with hearing you say that over and over. Instead, I'll just calmly remind you that it's not up to you, Mother - not even a teeny, tiny bit. The bottom line is that they're living with us, and Rory and I are both fine with it, so that's all that matters, okay?"  
  
"Fine, fine," Emily said, shrugging nonchalantly. "I'm perfectly aware that our opinions don't matter to you."  
  
"Yes, well, then why do you keep offering them?" Lorelai asked in an annoyed tone.  
  
"Because I'm hoping that one day you will come to your senses and decide to listen to them," Emily retorted.  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Come to my senses?" She exhaled slowly and took a sip of her wine. "Geez, Mom, why can't you just. . . " Lorelai's voice trailed off and she mumbled, "Forget it. Let's go eat." She stood up and walked out of the living room.  
  
Emily stood up and followed her into the dining room. "Why can't I what?" Emily asked. "Go on, we still have a few minutes before dinner for you to finish insulting me."  
  
Lorelai stopped walking and slowly turned around. She took a few deep breaths to control herself, then said calmly, "Why can't you, for once in your life, just be happy for me? Instead of offering opinions and commenting on every little thing I do, why can't you just relax and trust my decisions? I'm not a little kid anymore, Mom."  
  
"No, you're not, but Rory is," Emily replied.  
  
"Rory," Lorelai said loudly, "is fine.  
  
"Maybe she is now," Emily said. "But what happens when you and Luke discover that moving in so soon wasn't the best idea and he ends up moving out just as Rory was getting used to having a male figure around full time? What happens to her then?"  
  
Lorelai pursed her lips and said sternly, "Drop it, Mom." Lorelai walked over to her usual seat and pulled out her chair.  
  
Emily sighed loudly. "You just don't understand how it will affect her if this relationship doesn't work out. You didn't think about that, Lorelai. You never think."  
  
Lorelai ignored her and yelled, "Dad, Rory, come in here before I grab this bowl of potatoes and throw it at something - or someone!" A few seconds later, Richard and Rory entered the dining room, and the four of them sat down at the table.  
  
* * *  
  
When Lorelai and Rory walked into their house later that evening, Jess and Luke were on the couch watching television. Luke looked toward the front door and said, "Hey."  
  
Without looking at him, Lorelai muttered "Hey" and walked directly to the kitchen.  
  
Rory walked into the living room and Luke asked quietly, "Rough night?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Just a little."  
  
Luke stood up and walked toward the kitchen. He paused at the doorway and watched as Lorelai poured coffee grounds into the coffee maker. Luke shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the wall. "You okay?"  
  
"Dandy," she replied dryly. She placed the pot on the coffee maker, then put the bag of grounds in the refrigerator. When she shut the refrigerator door, she stood staring at it, her hand still clutching the handle.  
  
Luke walked toward her, and when she felt him directly behind her, she turned around and hugged him. He ran his hands up and down her back and said, "What did she do this time?"  
  
Lorelai pulled back from him and sighed. "One guess."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "She pulled out the 'you're rushing into things' argument again?"  
  
"Ding ding ding, you win the grand prize," Lorelai said, tapping him on the shoulder. She leaned forward and kissed him, then hugged him again, resting her head on his shoulder.  
  
They were both silent for a moment before Luke said, "You know, that money in our checking account is both of ours."  
  
Lorelai pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. "So?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "So we can afford to send Rory to Chilton ourselves now."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Luke, no - I don't want you to spend your savings on that."  
  
"I'm serious, I don't mind. I want to do it," Luke insisted.  
  
Lorelai ran her fingers over his cheeks and smiled at him. "I know you do, and that's why you're gonna get lucky later tonight - but I still just. . .Chilton's a lot of money, and if we have to start mailing in those monthly payments - it's just gonna deplete all of that money you've saved up. We'll just let my parents finish up this next year and then we'll work out some sort of payment plan to pay them back that won't be quite as high as the Chilton payments."  
  
Luke bit his lip with uncertainty. "So you're willing to go through another entire year of dinners - that's fifty-two more dinners, fifty-two more nights of you coming home all sad and grumpy."  
  
"Yeah, but it's also fifty-two more nights of you cheering me up," she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.  
  
"I don't know," Luke said, shaking his head. "According to your mom, I probably won't be here that long."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. As she slowly pulled her lips away from his, she said, "Wanna bet?"  
  
"No, thanks," he replied with a laugh. "Betting with you is always a dangerous thing."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "True - I think I've officially scared you from entering into another bet ever again."  
  
"Yes, you have," he replied. He pointed to a box on the table. "There're your brownies for the festival tomorrow."  
  
Lorelai gasped and smiled. "You made them?"  
  
"Yup," Luke said.  
  
"Thanks." Lorelai walked over to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup. "So, you're going tomorrow, right?" she asked casually.  
  
Luke groaned. "No, for the hundredth time."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Come on, you haven't changed your mind yet?"  
  
"Nope. I don't participate in these stupid town festivals, you know that."  
  
"Oh yeah? What about when you bid on my basket?" Lorelai pointed out. "Or when we went to the Founder's Day festival?"  
  
"Those were different," Luke said.  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Because they. . .I didn't. . .you were. . ." Luke sighed. "They were just different."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Good argument there, Jack McCoy."  
  
"I'm not going," Luke said. He turned and walked toward the living room, and Lorelai followed him.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai woke up alone in the bed and groggily made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. After she was dressed, she walked downstairs and found Rory reading on the couch. "Hey Mom."  
  
"Hey Sweets," Lorelai replied. "What time - " She paused a moment, then narrowed her eyes at a rumbling noise coming from outside. "What's that noise?"  
  
"Luke's mowing the lawn," Rory replied, not looking up from her book.  
  
Lorelai walked out the front door and stepped onto the porch. She smiled as she saw Luke, shirtless and sweaty, pushing the mower across the front lawn. As he reached the end of the yard, he turned the mower around and saw her standing on the porch. He smiled at her, then pushed the mower back in her direction. When he reached the porch, he turned the mower off and walked up to her. "Hey."  
  
"Hi. Hot enough for you?" she asked, fanning herself with her hand. "It's only ten a.m. and it's already like a hundred degrees out here."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Luke replied. He grabbed the towel that was hanging on the porch railing and he wiped his face with it. "It's supposed to get even hotter later so I thought I might as well get this done now. Then I'm gonna wash the cars before I go to the diner for the lunch shift."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Well, look at you with the whole day planned out."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Just trying to be productive - which I'm sure is something you're not familiar with."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Not true - I have a very productive plan for the day."  
  
"Which is?" Luke prompted her.  
  
"Chocolate festival."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And. . .well, that's pretty much it," she finished with a shrug.  
  
Luke laughed. "Good plan."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Thank you."  
  
Luke gestured to the mower. "Okay, I'm gonna finish this up."  
  
"Okay, I'm gonna go get some breakfast, then come out and watch you," Lorelai said.  
  
"Watch me?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Starved for entertainment?"  
  
"No, you know I love watching you be physical." She smiled and ran a finger over the curves of his chest. "Watching the sweat run down your body, watching the determined look on your face."  
  
"I have a determined look when I'm pushing the mower?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Mmhmm. Want me to videotape you so you can see it?"  
  
"No, thanks."  
  
"Ooh, no, that's a good idea!" she exclaimed excitedly. "We'll tape you being all hot and physical, and then I can watch it to help get me in the mood."  
  
"That's the last thing you need help with," Luke replied with a laugh. "Why don't you videotape me saying that coffee is bad for you, then watch that over and over and see if that does anything for you?"  
  
Lorelai thought it over for a second, then nodded and said, "See, that might work, but only if you say it while you're showering." Luke rolled his eyes and walked toward the mower. "Guess that's a no?" Lorelai called. Luke gave her a pointed look, then started the lawnmower. Lorelai smiled to herself and walked into the house.  
  
When she walked back out twenty minutes later, Luke was pushing the mower back into the shed. She sat down on the bench and propped her legs up on the porch railing. A minute later, he walked toward the cars, a bucket filled with soapy water in one hand and the hose in the other. He stopped in front of her and said, "There are two sponges, you know."  
  
"Good, you can be extra-productive and use both hands at the same time," she replied with a smile.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Come help."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "But I just got comfortable."  
  
"It'll go faster if you help," he said.  
  
"Oh, that's okay, I don't mind if you take a long time," she replied, waving him off.  
  
Luke sighed. He put down the bucket and the hose, then walked up onto the porch and over to her. Lorelai removed her feet from the railing and looked up at him curiously. He folded his arms across his chest, pursed his lips and gave her a stern look. A few seconds later, his face softened and he said, "Come on, don't make me pout."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Oh my God, you looked so serious!"  
  
Luke smiled and held out his hand. "Come on."  
  
Lorelai grabbed his hand and let him pull her up off the bench. "Okay, but only because I don't wanna see you pout." Luke smiled and he led her off the porch.  
  
They brought the bucket and hose to the Jeep. Lorelai reached into the bucket and pulled out a soapy sponge, then started lathering up the hood. A few minutes later, she picked up the hose and rinsed off the front of the car. As she was about to put the hose down, she glanced at Luke, who was squatting down washing the back of the Jeep. She sprayed the hose up in the hair, letting it fall on him like rain. Luke jumped up and exclaimed, "What the hell?"  
  
Lorelai giggled. "You looked like you could use some cooling off."  
  
"Thanks for the gesture, but I'm fine," he replied.  
  
"You sure?" Lorelai asked, spraying him again.  
  
Luke's mouth dropped open slightly and he started walking toward her.  
  
"Uh oh!" she cried. She dropped the hose on the ground and ran around the other side of the Jeep.  
  
Luke picked up the hose and smiled. "Don't you know you're not supposed to drop the hose in this type of situation?"  
  
Lorelai peeked from around the back of the Jeep. "I forgot." Luke walked toward her, smiling. She walked backward toward the house wagging a finger at him. "You wouldn't squirt little old me, would you?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "No, I wasn't planning on it," he said, lowering the hose.  
  
Lorelai smiled and relaxed. "Good."  
  
"But since you did it to me, I think it's only fair that you get it back," Luke said, aiming the nozzle at her.  
  
Lorelai gasped as the cold water hit her body and she threw her hands up over her face. "Luke! Oh my God!" she screamed.  
  
He laughed and put the hose down. She removed her hands and looked down at her outfit, which was now dripping wet. "I was going to wear this to the festival," she whined.  
  
"It'll dry," he replied, walking toward her. He eyed the white tank top that was now clinging tightly to her body, leaving little to the imagination about what was underneath. "Though I kind of prefer this way." He ran his fingers over the thin, soaked fabric that covered her chest.  
  
Lorelai swallowed hard at the sensation and she groaned softly. She let him continue stroking her for a moment, then said, "Uh, Luke?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Are you aware that Babette is standing on her front porch watching you fondle me?" she asked.  
  
Luke's eyes widened and he quickly put his hands at his sides. He turned his head slowly toward Babette's house, then rolled his eyes when he didn't see anyone. He brought his gaze back to Lorelai. "Liar."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "That's what you get." She leaned forward and kissed him, then pulled back and said, "Okay, I think five minutes of car washing is enough to chock this up as a productive day. I'm gonna go inside and watch television."  
  
Luke grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the Jeep. "Come on, we're almost done."  
  
* * *  
  
A little while later, they walked through the back door into the kitchen. Lorelai pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and handed it to Luke, then pulled one out for herself.  
  
"Thanks." Luke glanced at the clock on the microwave. "I have to get to the diner soon. You coming in for lunch?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I'll go with you." She took a sip of water. "So, I think that since you made me wash cars, which was something I didn't wanna do, you should do something that you don't wanna do and come to the festival with us. What do you say?" Lorelai asked hopefully.  
  
"Um, I say no," he replied, taking a drink of water.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Please? I can beg. You want me to beg?"  
  
"Yes." He folded his arms across his chest and looked at her expectantly.  
  
"Please, please, please, come with us!" Lorelai begged annoyingly. "I'll be your best friend!"  
  
"You are my best friend," he replied.  
  
Lorelai's face softened and she smiled. "Aw, you've never said that before."  
  
Luke shrugged. "You always have been."  
  
Lorelai reached up and gently stroked his cheek. "Aw, I love when you switch into 'Sweet Luke' mode."  
  
"I'm still not going to the festival," he said dryly.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "And that was the end of 'Sweet Luke' mode. Tune in again next week for another installment."  
  
Luke smiled and walked out of the kitchen. "Sorry, not going," he called.  
  
Lorelai followed him into the living room. "Fine, fine, forget it." Rory was sitting on the couch, still reading. "Have you moved at all since this morning?" Lorelai asked her.  
  
Rory looked up. "Yeah, I got a drink a little while ago."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay, just checking." She sat down next to her as Luke walked over to the desk and looked through some papers. "We're heading to the diner soon - wanna come?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Sure. We can't eat too much, though - gotta save room for festival food."  
  
"Ooh, good idea," Lorelai replied. "Luke won't come with us."  
  
Luke groaned from behind them. "When are you gonna give up?"  
  
"Never," Lorelai replied.  
  
Luke sighed as he walked toward the steps. "I'm gonna take a quick shower." He disappeared up the staircase.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "I'll get him to go."  
  
Rory laughed. "To a festival dedicated to chocolate and junk food? No way. I bet you can't even get him to come out of the diner while the festival's going on."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "How much?"  
  
"Five bucks," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai extended her hand. "Deal."  
  
"Deal," Rory replied as they shook on it.  
  
* * * 


	7. Parts 34 to 38

"It's Right There - parts 34 - 38"  
  
* * *  
  
PART 34  
  
* * *  
  
While Rory continued reading, Lorelai sat quietly on the couch pondering ways to coax Luke into coming out of the diner during the festival. Several minutes passed, and soon she heard Luke upstairs walking out of the bathroom and into their bedroom. Lorelai stood up from the couch and climbed the staircase. She turned the knob of the bedroom door and finding that it was locked, she knocked lightly. "Luke, it's me," she called.  
  
A few seconds later, Luke pulled open the door with a towel wrapped around his waist and another in his hand. Lorelai stepped into the room and Luke closed the door behind her. As Lorelai sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard, Luke walked over to the mirror and began towel-drying his hair. In the mirror's reflection, he noticed Lorelai watching him. "What's up?" he asked. He tossed the towel down and picked up a comb, then turned around to face her as he began running it through his hair.  
  
Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "Nothing. Just hanging out until the festival starts." She pulled her knees up and hugged them tightly against her chest.  
  
Luke nodded and walked over to his dresser. He pulled out a pair of boxer shorts and dropped the towel from his waist. Lorelai stared at his body as he stepped into the boxers and pulled them up. She leaned forward on the bed and watched him pull on a pair of jeans. As he zippered them up and fastened the button, Lorelai remarked, "Those jeans look big on you."  
  
"Yeah, they're a little big."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Mmhmm, that's 'cause you've been losing weight, I can tell."  
  
"Yeah, well. . ." Luke said with a modest shrug.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Look at you trying to be all shy about it."  
  
Luke laughed. "What? I'm not being shy."  
  
"Uh huh, you don't wanna talk about how all that working out has made you look sexier," Lorelai teased. "You don't wanna talk about how your stomach is flatter and your body is more toned and your butt is firmer."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "My butt is not firmer. My butt is exactly the same."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Excuse me, which one of us has the better view of your butt? Me, and I say it's firmer, so it's firmer."  
  
Luke threw his hands up in defeat. "Fine, whatever you say."  
  
Lorelai grinned. "Ah, my favorite words to hear." Luke reached into his dresser and pulled out a T-shirt. Lorelai climbed off the bed and walked over to him. She helped pull the shirt down, then wrapped her arms around his waist. "You know, you shouldn't get too thin. I like my men to have a little meat." She pinched his stomach through his shirt. "See, look at that - there's not enough of a love handle for me to grab onto in an emergency."  
  
"Uh, exactly what kind of emergency would you need to grab onto my stomach?" Luke asked curiously.  
  
"Uh, well. . .for instance. . ." Lorelai bit her lips and narrowed her eyes, thinking. Luke stared at her expectantly. Finally her eyes widened and she smiled. "Okay, say we were in a bank that was being robbed and we were being held hostage by this guy who said he would shoot us if I didn't hold onto your stomach at all times, but because you're thinner now and there's not much for me to hold onto, I accidentally let go and then . . .BAM. . .we both get killed." Lorelai shook her head disappointedly. "You really need to bulk up a little more."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Okay, I knew the scenario would be bad, but I thought you would do better than that." He pulled away from her and grabbed his hat from the bed.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "I thought it was pretty good, and I think that maybe you should eat something unhealthy just to get a little of that meat back. You know, maybe I could bring you something from the festival?" she suggested casually.  
  
"No, thanks." Luke grabbed his wallet from the dresser. "Okay, I really have to get to work."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose, then nodded. "Yeah, let me just brush my hair and I'll be ready. Can you go tell Rory we're leaving now?"  
  
"Yup." Luke walked past her and went downstairs.  
  
* * *  
  
A few minutes later, Lorelai, Luke and Rory were walking toward the diner. As they approached the town square, they saw groups of people putting up decorations and setting up tables for the festival. As Rory and Luke walked into the diner, Lorelai, with her box of brownies in hand, walked over to one of the shaded food tables and set them down.  
  
She entered the diner and sat down with Rory at a table near the window where they could watch people set up. They drank coffee and shared a plate of French fries, checking their watch every few minutes as they waited for the official one o'clock starting time of the festival.  
  
When it was finally time, Lorelai stood up and walked up to Luke to the counter as Rory walked outside. Lorelai handed Luke a few dollars for the meal, then said, "Do you wanna kiss me goodnight now?"  
  
"Kiss you goodnight?" he repeated, confused.  
  
"Yeah, because I'm pretty sure that no amount of tooth-brushing later tonight is going to be able to remove all the junk food I plan on eating, so if you want to kiss me goodnight with a nice, clean mouth, now's the best time."  
  
Luke smiled and nodded knowingly. "Ah, I get it." He leaned forward across the counter and kissed her. As he pulled back, he said, "Now, I expect you to pace yourself - don't try to eat everything all at once."  
  
Lorelai waved him off. "I know, I know. Thanks, Dad."  
  
Luke smirked. "Yeah, well, I'm not gonna be the one cleaning it up when you overdo it and make yourself sick out there."  
  
"Oh, please," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. She tilted her head and put her hands in the center of her chest. "Have you forgotten that I'm a professional junk food eater? I know exactly what I'm doing when it comes to managing the appropriate amount of sugar intake."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "A talent I'm so very proud of."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
* * *  
  
Half an hour later, Lorelai and Rory were walking through the town square, browsing the tables of junk food for the second time. They each carried a paper plate that they loaded up with desserts, and when the plates were finally full, they walked over to a bench and sat down.  
  
Lorelai took a bite of a chocolate cookie. "Mmmm, that's good," she moaned. She finished chewing it, then shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth. She chewed it slowly and gazed toward the diner, where she could see Luke inside at the counter. "Now, are there any rules to getting him out here?"  
  
Rory looked toward the diner and thought for a moment. "Yeah, he has to come out the front door, and you can't tell him that it's for a bet and you can't physically drag him out."  
  
"Aw, no fair," Lorelai complained. "That was my whole strategy."  
  
"And," Rory continued, "you have to get him to cross the street to the festival."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "No way! You said I wouldn't be able to get him to come out of the diner, not to actually come to the festival. That's why I took the bet."  
  
Rory sighed. "Fine, okay, but he has to at least come off the steps onto the sidewalk."  
  
Lorelai frowned, but reluctantly agreed. "Okay, fine." She glanced toward the line of game tables. "I'll be right back." Lorelai stood up and walked over to the tables, scouring the many games that were set up. She walked back to Rory and asked, "Which do you think I'd be better at - the Hershey Kiss eating contest or the contest to see who can build the highest cupcake tower?"  
  
"Hershey Kisses," Rory replied quickly. "You can down a whole bag in like five minutes."  
  
"Very true," Lorelai agreed. She checked her watch. "Okay, that starts in ten minutes so I'm gonna go work on Luke for a little bit."  
  
Rory smiled. "Ha, good luck with that."  
  
Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Rory, then walked toward the diner. She pulled the door open and walked inside. Luke stood at the counter with several pieces of paper spread out in front of him. Lorelai walked over and sat down on the stool across from him. "Hey, whatcha doing?"  
  
Luke looked up at her. "Oh, uh, just going over some inventory."  
  
Lorelai glanced down at one of the sheets. "Ooh, looks like you're running out of bacon there."  
  
"Yeah, I have to order some more," he said. He put the papers into a stack and pushed them aside, then leaned forward on the counter and smiled. "So, how's it going out there? I haven't heard any sirens, so I'm guessing you haven't started any fist fights over the last piece of cake or something."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "No, not yet, but there's still plenty of time for that." She glanced around the almost-empty diner. "Kinda slow in here, huh?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, well, since less than one percent of the people in this town eat healthy, the festival's grabbed most of the townspeople's attention for today."  
  
"So. . .aren't you bored in here?" Lorelai asked. "Why don't you come out for a little bit? I'm about to enter the Hershey Kiss eating contest."  
  
Luke smiled. "And as much as I'd love to watch you shove food in your mouth as fast as you can and then watch disgusting lines of chocolate-flavored saliva dripping down your chin, I think I'll pass."  
  
Lorelai pouted. "Tsk, come on, Luke. What if I win? Don't you wanna be there to congratulate me?"  
  
"I'm sure if you win you'll run in here and tell me," Luke pointed out. "I'll congratulate you then."  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Fine, okay, well. . ." She stood up. "I better get out there before it starts."  
  
"Good luck," Luke said. He paused and rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I just told you good luck in a Hershey Kiss eating contest. This town is so screwed up."  
  
Lorelai laughed, then she lowered her voice. "Ooh, you know, they have a whole table dedicated to chocolate milk out there."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Uh huh, so it made me think that next weekend when we have our own little 9 ½ Weeks-inspired love scene, we totally need to incorporate chocolate syrup into the mix," Lorelai said. "You know, rub a little here, rub a little there."  
  
Luke groaned. "Do you have any idea how messy that's gonna be?"  
  
Lorelai leaned across the counter and smiled. "Hey, the dirtier the better, right?"  
  
Luke waved her toward the door. "Okay, okay, I'll think about it. Go do your little contest thing."  
  
Lorelai pulled back from the counter. "You sure you don't wanna watch?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"I'm sure," he confirmed, spreading out his inventory sheets again. "See you later."  
  
Lorelai frowned as she walked toward the door. "Bye," she called over her shoulder.  
  
* * *  
  
Later, Lorelai and Rory were sitting on a bench eating chocolate pudding as Sookie walked over to them. "Hey," Sookie said as she sat down next to Lorelai.  
  
"Hey Sookie," Rory replied.  
  
"Hey," Lorelai said. "Did you just get here?"  
  
"Yup," Sookie replied. "I dropped my pies off this morning, then ran some errands with Jackson. What did I miss?"  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Some teenage kid beat me in the Hershey Kiss eating contest by one stupid Kiss!"  
  
Sookie glanced at Rory. "It wasn't you, was it? Or else you'll never hear the end of it."  
  
Rory smiled and shook her head. "No, it wasn't me, it was some guy from the high school basketball team."  
  
"We don't know who it is, though," Lorelai said. "We want to go to his house later and throw things at it, but we can't remember his name. Maybe you can help us."  
  
"Actually, I remembered it a few minutes ago, but I'm not telling you because I don't want you to get arrested," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai turned to Rory and gasped loudly. "Holding out information from your own mother! Tell me!"  
  
"Sorry." Rory smiled and shoved a spoonful of pudding into her mouth.  
  
Lorelai exhaled loudly. "You're so evil sometimes."  
  
Sookie glanced around the crowd. "Where's your guy?"  
  
Lorelai pointed toward the diner. "Work. He won't come out, no matter how much I ask."  
  
"You know that he hates junk food," Sookie pointed out. "What makes you think he'd wanna come out here?"  
  
"I know he doesn't *want* to come out here, but I *need* him to come out here," Lorelai explained.  
  
"Okay, and why exactly do you *need* him to come out here?" Sookie asked.  
  
"Because I bet her five bucks she couldn't get him to come out," Rory answered.  
  
Sookie laughed. "Really?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, so now I need to figure out how to get him out here."  
  
Sookie patted her on the back. "Well, good luck, but I think you're gonna be owing someone five bucks later, hon."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sookie." She stood up with a sigh and handed Sookie her pudding. "Here, I'm gonna go try again."  
  
Lorelai walked to the diner and pushed open the door. Luke was at a table pouring coffee, and he looked up when the door opened. "Hey," he said, walking over to her. "How'd the contest go?"  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Not good. Some kid beat me out by one Kiss."  
  
Luke smiled. "I'm sure you did your best." They walked to the counter and Lorelai sat down on a stool.  
  
"I need a bigger mouth," Lorelai said.  
  
"Uh, no, I think it's plenty big enough."  
  
Lorelai smirked. "Well, then, I needed to exercise my jaw more before the contest," she said. She put her hand on her chin and pretended to think. "Hm, what could we have done to exercise my jaw? Oh, man, I can't think of - wait, I got it," she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively at Luke.  
  
Luke blushed slightly and glanced around, making sure that no one was in earshot. Seeing that no one was, he lowered his voice and said, "Yeah, well, now you know for next time."  
  
Lorelai giggled and patted her chin. "We should probably do it as often as possible so I can build it up nice and strong for next year."  
  
"Hey, I'm not arguing with that," he replied with a shrug. "You want some coffee?"  
  
"No, thanks," Lorelai replied. "It's like a hundred degrees out there."  
  
"Water?" he suggested.  
  
"Do you have bottles?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I've got a couple in the back," he said, pointing toward the kitchen. "Come with me."  
  
Lorelai smiled and slid off the stool. She followed him through the kitchen to the refrigerator, where he pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to her. "Thanks." She glanced around the kitchen and noticed a few workers mulling around. She smiled up at Luke. "Is there somewhere we can go right now and. . . strengthen my jaw?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Forget it."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Fine, but at least give me a little something to last the afternoon." She grabbed his hand and led him out the back door. As the door closed and isolated them in privacy in the back alley, Luke pressed his lips tightly against hers. She eagerly kissed him back and ran her fingers through his hair.  
  
As they kissed, Luke's hands glided over her back until they slowly slid down and ended up in the back pockets of her denim shorts. Lorelai smiled through the kiss. "Mm, keep them there all day, would ya?"  
  
Luke smiled. "I wish I could." He leaned forward and kissed her again.  
  
When they finally broke apart, Luke reluctantly removed his hands from her pockets and pulled open the back door. He held it open for her, and as she walked in she opened her water and took a sip. They walked through the kitchen to the diner. Lorelai sat back down on a stool and Luke stood across from her on the other side of the counter.  
  
"So. . . any more contests coming up?" Luke asked.  
  
"Well, there's the one to guess how many M&M's are in the jar," Lorelai said. "They're announcing the number at two, and the winner gets to keep the jar of candy," she added excitedly. "You should see it - it's huuuuuge!"  
  
Luke groaned. "Great, just what we need."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "And later, there's the super fabulous ice cream obstacle course."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes. "Do I even wanna know?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and shook her head. "Nope. I just hope it goes fast or the ice cream's gonna melt and that'll just make the obstacle course much more difficult. I know from experience," she said knowingly. She paused a moment, then shrugged. "Okay, so I don't, but I like saying that because it makes me sound more. . .experienced, you know?"  
  
Luke gave her an amused smile. "Yup." He picked up a rag and started wiping down the counter in front of him.  
  
Lorelai stared at him for a moment, then said, "So . . . you sure you don't wanna come out for a bit?"  
  
"I'm sure," he said, continuing to wipe the counter.  
  
"You're positive?" she asked. "It's really fun, and I actually saw some healthy stuff out there, like. . . chocolate covered fruit."  
  
Luke looked up and let out a small laugh. "I know that you hear the word fruit and automatically think it's healthy, but just to let you know for future reference, chocolate covered fruit isn't healthy."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Eh, it should be." She bit her lip for a second, then said, "Okay, I'm gonna head back out there. You're positive that you. . ."  
  
"Nope, don't wanna come out," he answered with a slightly annoyed sigh.  
  
Lorelai stood up from the stool and grabbed her water bottle. "Well, do you want me to come get you when the obstacle course starts? You may never get the chance to see anything like it again."  
  
"I think I'll live," he replied.  
  
Lorelai lingered by the counter for another few seconds. "Luke, maybe you could just - "  
  
Luke sighed loudly. "Lorelai, I'm sorry - as much as I'd love to spend time with you right now, I have to work, and even if I didn't, walking around a festival dedicated to junk food in a hundred degree weather is not how I want to spend my Saturday."  
  
Lorelai held up her hands in defeat. "Fine, fine. I just thought that you might want to take a break and hang out. If you want to later, you know where to find me."  
  
"Yeah, well, don't hold your breath waiting for me to voluntarily leave work to go to a town festival that represents things that I despise," Luke said dryly. "If you couldn't tell, I've already made up my mind."  
  
"Well, you might change it. There's a first time for everything," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yes, and there's a last time for everything, too," Luke replied. "And for the last time, no - I don't want to go. I'll see you later." Luke turned around and walked back into the kitchen.  
  
Lorelai exhaled loudly and walked out of the diner. She crossed the street to find Rory and Sookie, who were standing near the table of drinks. She sighed loudly as she reached them. "Hey."  
  
"Hey Mom," Rory said. She glanced past her. "I don't see Luke, so I'm guessing you didn't have much luck?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, there's no way he's coming out here, and now that I've annoyed him to death about it, I have a feeling if I go in there again, I won't be coming back out either."  
  
Sookie frowned sympathetically. "Aw, sorry. Can't win 'em all, though."  
  
"Sure I can," Lorelai replied. "It's not over yet."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "You just said yourself that there's no way he's coming out here. Pay up." She held out her hand.  
  
Lorelai pushed her hand away and said, "Hey, now, I'm not giving up yet. I just said I can't go in there anymore - I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."  
  
"Like?" Rory prompted.  
  
"Well, like, you can go in there and tell him I fainted and that'll get him to run out," Lorelai said. She turned to Sookie. "Or maybe you can go in there and tell him that I'm out here flirting with some guy and that'll get him all jealous and he'll run out here to see for himself."  
  
Rory shook her head. "No way, you have to get him out here yourself, Mom. You can't get anyone else to do it for you."  
  
"Rats," Lorelai muttered. She wrinkled her nose and glanced around the crowded festival, looking for another idea. Her eyes fell upon Miss Patty and Taylor talking near the gazebo. Taylor was biting into a brownie as Miss Patty smoked a cigarette. Lorelai's eyes widened. "Oh my God, I got it!"  
  
"What?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai handed her water bottle to Rory and said, "You guys wait here, I'll be right back." Lorelai walked over to Taylor and Patty. "Hey guys."  
  
"Lorelai, hello." Patty smiled. "How are you, honey?"  
  
"Fine, good, great, how are you guys?" Lorelai asked quickly.  
  
"Just fine," Taylor replied, taking another bite of brownie.  
  
"Ooh, are those good? I think those are the ones that Luke made," Lorelai said.  
  
"Mm, yes, they're very good," Taylor replied. "I have to say, I didn't think this festival would work out, but the townspeople seem to be enjoying it very much."  
  
"See, I told you so," Lorelai replied. She turned to Patty and cleared her throat. "Uh, Patty. . . can I borrow a cigarette?"  
  
Surprised, Patty raised her eyebrows. "When did you start smoking, dear?"  
  
"I didn't," Lorelai replied. "It's a long story, but you'll get it back, I promise." Patty pulled her cigarettes out of her purse and offered one to Lorelai. Lorelai took it and smiled. "Thanks."  
  
"Do you need a light, dear?" Patty asked.  
  
"Nope, this is all I need, thanks," Lorelai said. She walked back over to Sookie and Rory.  
  
"What was that all about?" Rory asked curiously.  
  
Lorelai held up the cigarette. "This."  
  
"What are you gonna do with that?" Sookie asked. "You don't smoke."  
  
"I know I don't," Lorelai replied. "And Luke doesn't either - in fact, he hates it. He even told me he'd never date someone who smoked." Lorelai grinned.  
  
"Oh, I get it." Rory smiled. "You really think that's gonna work?"  
  
"Yup," Lorelai replied.  
  
Sookie glanced back and forth between them. "What's gonna work? What's going on?"  
  
"Me pretending to be a smoker," Lorelai said. Sookie stared at her, confused. Lorelai rolled her eyes and patted Sookie on the back. "I'll take Over Your Head for a thousand, Alex." She started walking toward the diner. "Rory, tell her what's going on."  
  
As they followed Lorelai to the diner, Rory explained the plan to Sookie. The three of them stood together on the sidewalk a few feet from the large picture window of the diner. "Is he in there?" Lorelai asked, squinting through the window. "I can't tell."  
  
"I don't see him," Rory said. "He must be in the kitchen."  
  
"Yeah, that's where he went when I ticked him off," Lorelai said. She glanced down at the cigarette. "Ooh, I wish I had a candy cigarette. Those things are good."  
  
"Mm, I love those," Rory said. "We need to get some from the store next time we go shopping."  
  
"We definitely do," Lorelai agreed. She glanced into the diner and said, "Ooh, there he is, there he is!" Rory and Sookie both looked into the window, but Lorelai said, "No, don't look! That's too suspicious-looking."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "And the fact that we're all standing here in front of the window?"  
  
"Also suspicious-looking, but it seems less suspicious to just be talking than to have our faces pressed up against the glass," Lorelai said.  
  
Sookie giggled. "I can't wait to see him freak out."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I know, it's so fun seeing him get all worked up." She glanced quickly in the window to make sure he was still in view. "Okay, here we go. We're just gonna casually walk by the window."  
  
Lorelai, Rory and Sookie walked slowly along the outside of the diner, and Lorelai brought the cigarette up to her mouth and held it up between her lips. She took it out and pretended to blow out smoke, then she laughed. "I hope he doesn't realize that there's no smoke coming out of it. Maybe I should've took the one that Patty had already lit."  
  
They continued walking slowly along the window, then they turned the corner and walked in front of the window on the other side of the door. Lorelai brought the cigarette to her lips and glanced into the diner, watching Luke serve some customers. He casually glanced up at the window at Lorelai, then started to walk back to the counter. Suddenly, he turned around slowly and looked at her again. Lorelai pulled the cigarette from her lips and held it between her fingers, making sure he could see it. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, and Lorelai quickly turned around.  
  
"Oh, we have a direct hit," Lorelai said, smiling. Rory and Sookie both turned to look through the window. They watched as Luke set down the plate that he was holding, then walked quickly toward the door.  
  
Within seconds, Luke was rushing toward them down the sidewalk. "Lorelai, what the hell are you doing?" he said angrily. "Put that out!" As he reached them, he grabbed the cigarette from her hand and dropped it on the ground. Rory and Sookie stepped back from them, smiling to themselves.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Hey, what's up?"  
  
Luke's eyes widened with disbelief. "What do you mean, what's up? You've started smoking now? The coffee and junk food addictions weren't enough bad factors to contribute to an early death, but now you want to add lung cancer and emphysema and the other eight billion problems that smoking causes? Are you nuts? You know how I feel about that crap, why would you even - "  
  
Lorelai interrupted his rant by pressing her lips against his. He tried to pull away, but she pulled him closer and kissed him deeper. When she finally pulled away from him, Luke stepped back from her. "Knock it off. I don't wanna taste that."  
  
Lorelai folded her arms across her chest and smiled. "Do you taste any smoke?"  
  
"Yes, it's disgusting," he said, wiping off his lips.  
  
Lorelai bent down and picked up the cigarette, then held it up in front of him. "Really? It must be psychological then because I don't think you can taste smoke from an unlit cigarette."  
  
Luke took the cigarette from her and examined it curiously. As he slowly brought his hand down, he glanced from Lorelai to Rory and Sookie, all of whom were smiling at him. "What the hell is going on here?" he asked Lorelai. He waved the cigarette at her. "What is this about?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I just made five bucks." Lorelai took the cigarette from Luke, then turned to Rory and held out her hand. "Fork it over."  
  
Rory groaned and pulled a five-dollar bill out of her pocket. She gave it to Lorelai, who then handed Sookie the cigarette. "Can you guys take this over to Miss Patty while I explain things to Luke?"  
  
"Sure," Sookie replied. "Come on, sweetie." Rory and Sookie walked away.  
  
Lorelai turned to Luke, who had an annoyed look on his face. "Uh, hi," Lorelai said, smiling. Luke folded his arms across his chest, then pursed his lips and stared at her expectantly. Lorelai dropped the smile, then said, "Mmkay, before I start being all cute and adorable, I guess I should explain things, huh?"  
  
* * *  
  
A few minutes later, Lorelai walked over to Sookie and Rory. "Everything okay?" Rory asked. "He wasn't mad, right?"  
  
"Nope, he wasn't mad," Lorelai said. She frowned and added, "But he made me give him the five bucks."  
  
Rory laughed. "Aw, all that hard work and nothing to show for it."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Yeah, well - at least I didn't give up."  
  
Sookie nodded. "Yes, you had great determination to win the bet and you pulled it off."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, I did. I'm quite proud of myself." She glanced around and her eyes fell on the ice cream table. "Ooh, they brought the ice cream out! Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai walked into her bedroom to get ready for bed and found Luke sitting on the floor by the air conditioning vent. She sat down on the bed and asked, "What are you doing?"  
  
"The vent's broken or something, there's no air coming out," Luke said. He used a screwdriver to remove the vent cover, then looked into the vent. "I'm not sure what's wrong though, we might need to call someone to take a look at it."  
  
"Is it just this one vent?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah, the one is Jess' room is fine, the one in the bathroom is fine, it just seems like it's this one that's acting up," Luke said. "And probably whatever else it's connected to downstairs." Luke screwed the cover back on, then stood up.  
  
Lorelai pulled at the neckline of her T-shirt and made a face. "Ugh, I can feel it now. It's getting hot in here." She fanned herself with her hand, then smiled. "Ooh, you know what I just said. . .come on, finish it."  
  
Luke pulled his shirt off and tossed it in the laundry basket. "No, thank you."  
  
"Please?" Lorelai begged. "Come on, it's the only part of the song that I like. Here, let's try it again." Lorelai stood up on top of the bed and danced as she sang, "It's getting hot in here. . ." She clapped her hands rhythmically as she waited for Luke to finish it. He stared at her for a few seconds as she jumped around on the bed, and finally a small smile appeared on his lips. He walked over to the door and locked it, then walked back over to her. She smiled and sang it again, "It's getting hot in here. . ."  
  
"So take off all your clothes," Luke said dryly, rolling his eyes.  
  
"I am getting so hot, I'm gonna take my clothes off," Lorelai sang in a high voice. She laughed and put her hands on his shoulders. "Man, you've got that line down. Nelly's gonna be calling you up for a duet soon."  
  
Luke slid her shirt up and kissed her stomach, then looked up at her. "No, seriously, take off all your clothes."  
  
Lorelai smiled and pulled off her shirt, then tossed it aside. She jumped on the bed a few times, then landed in a sitting position with a loud thud. She leaned back against the pillows and smiled up at him. As he started to crawl on top of her, she said, "Hey, if you give me my five bucks back, I'll sleep with you right now."  
  
"You're gonna sleep with me right now anyway," he said, leaning down to kiss her chest.  
  
"Yeah, well, if you give me my five bucks back, I'll make it . . .extra good," Lorelai promised.  
  
Luke lifted his lips from her body and rolled his eyes. "Really, how so?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Here's the deal - we'll do it, and if you agree that it was in fact extra good, you have to give me the five bucks back."  
  
Luke smirked. "Isn't that a little too close to prostitution?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I'm not an undercover cop, are you?"  
  
"No, I'm not."  
  
"Then who cares? But you have to be truthful about it. You can't pretend it wasn't extra good just so you don't have to pay me. Deal?  
  
Luke stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Deal."  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai woke up and groggily glanced at the clock, which informed her that it was almost nine. She stretched her hand behind her to check for Luke, and wasn't surprised to find that he had already gotten up. She rested her head against her pillow and yawned loudly, then slowly sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes. She glanced over at Luke's side of the bed and laughed at what she saw. At the bottom of his pillow sat a scattered pile of five-dollar bills. She smiled to herself, then stood up from the bed and pulled on her robe.  
  
She walked into the bathroom, and a few minutes later she went downstairs to look for Luke. She glanced out the side door and saw him sitting on the porch bench looking through his toolbox. She stepped outside, and he looked up at her and smiled. "Hey."  
  
"Hey." Lorelai walked over and sat down on his lap. She pressed her lips against his and kissed him deeply, then smiled through the kiss. "I take it you were a satisfied customer last night?"  
  
Luke smiled. "You got my tip?"  
  
"Yes, I did," she replied. "Thanks for making me feel like a high-class hooker and not one of those cheap ones on those HBO specials."  
  
Luke smiled and gave her a small nod. "You're welcome."  
  
"Okay, I'm gonna go eat breakfast and take a shower, and then you can send up the next John, okay?" Lorelai said.  
  
Luke laughed and nodded. "Okay, will do."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him, then stood up and walked back into the house.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 35  
  
* * *  
  
Lorelai walked into the kitchen and fixed herself a bowl of cereal. She sat down at the table and read through the Sunday sales flyers from the newspaper while she ate. Luke walked in through the back door and washed his hands at the sink, then sat down next to her.  
  
Lorelai put down the flyer she was reading, then smiled at him. "Hey, whatcha doing?"  
  
"I was getting my tools together," Luke replied. "Now I gotta run to the hardware store and get some wood."  
  
"Get some wood?"  
  
"Get some wood," he confirmed, nodding his head.  
  
"Just randomly felt like going out and picking up some wood?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Nah, it's for that little room I'm building in the apartment," Luke replied. "Remember, I wanted to get all the diner stuff together and out of Jess' way before he moves back."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Right, right, I remember."  
  
"Yeah, so, I'm gonna get started on that today," Luke said. "Probably be up there all day. What are you gonna do?"  
  
"I'm not sure yet," Lorelai replied. She glanced down at the stack of flyers. "Maybe go shopping - there are a lot of good sales out there."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "You women always think that just because there's a sale, you have to go out and buy stuff. And it's never stuff you think you need until you see it in one of those stupid flyers, and then suddenly, every woman is thinking, 'Man, I should really pick up this fifty-nine piece set of picnic basket accessories while it's on sale just in case I need it someday.' But they'll never use it, and do you know why?"  
  
With an amused smile, Lorelai leaned forward as if she was captivated by his speech. "No, please tell me, why?"  
  
"Because men don't like picnics, and those women who are running out and spending money on the fifty-nine piece picnic basket set are bringing it home, and then their men are shoving it in the basement or a closet or the garbage so the women can't find it, and then the women forget about it and it's just yet another thing that turns out to be a complete waste of money." Luke leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.  
  
Lorelai smiled and shook her head slightly. "Wow. Okay, now I totally have to go out and find one of those picnic basket sets because in the future, when I tell people about your little rant there, it'll make the story a hundred times funnier if I can follow it up with a story about how, as soon as you were done, I went out and bought one myself."  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Don't even think about it."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "What, you're telling me that if I went out and bought a basket, you wouldn't go on a picnic with me?"  
  
"I've already gone on a picnic with you, remember? And I believe I paid fifty bucks for it," he added, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I remember. Okay, so maybe it was a tad expensive for some Pop Tarts and Slim Jims, but think of it this way - if you didn't spend that money, someone else would've won my basket."  
  
"Yeah. . .and?" Luke prompted.  
  
"Well, then, I might've hit it off with him," Lorelai continued. "And then it would be him, instead of you, who'll get to watch me dance around naked on the bed tonight singing Papa Don't Preach."  
  
Luke smiled. "So that was fifty bucks well spent."  
  
Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him. As she pulled back, she smiled and said, "And if I remember correctly, you had a good time in the gazebo that day."  
  
Luke smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, well. . .maybe I did. Although that's not the moment of us together that I associate with the gazebo anymore."  
  
Lorelai giggled and shook her head. "Yeah, me either." Luke stood up from the table and walked over to the counter where he'd set his wallet earlier. Lorelai turned around to look at him. "Luke?"  
  
Luke shoved his wallet into his back pocket, then turned around. "Yeah?"  
  
"What would you have done if the cigarette was real?"  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Lorelai stood up and walked over to him. "If I had really started smoking. . .what would you do? You said you'd never date someone who smoked. . .so, what would you have done?"  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa - wait a minute, what is this about?" Luke asked. "You haven't really started, have you?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, I was just wondering what you would do."  
  
Luke shrugged. "I'd help you quit."  
  
"So you wouldn't . . ." Lorelai let her voice trail off.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "You honestly think that I would leave you for that reason?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just going by what you said."  
  
"When I said that I wouldn't date someone who smoked, I meant it in the sense if I was single and . . .you know, looking for . . ." his voice trailed off.  
  
"A good time?" Lorelai suggested, smiling.  
  
Luke groaned. "No, a date. I mean, I wouldn't approach someone who was a smoker and ask them out, but . . .ya know, it's different if you already love someone before they pick up the habit. You're not just gonna throw them out the door, no matter how much you hate what they're doing."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Good answer." She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him. Luke brought one hand up to her face and stroked her cheek as he kissed her back passionately.  
  
He reluctantly pulled his lips from hers and said, "I have to go."  
  
Lorelai stepped back from him and nodded. "Okay. Uh, I'll come by the apartment later. . . you know, after I go out and buy a picnic basket."  
  
Luke smiled and rolled his eyes. "Bye."  
  
* * *  
  
That afternoon, Lorelai climbed the steps to Luke's apartment. As she neared the door, she heard hammering coming from inside, and on top of that, she heard two male voices. One of them was Luke's, the other was one she didn't recognize. It was difficult to hear what they were saying over the hammering, but Lorelai pressed her ear against the door to try to hear them.  
  
"I'm not kidding," Luke said. "She is."  
  
"Right," the man replied sarcastically. "Better than Rachel?"  
  
"Yup," Luke replied. "Hand me that box of nails, would ya?"  
  
"Here," the man replied. "Okay, that's a little hard to believe. I was amazed that you got Rachel, now you're telling me you got someone hotter?"  
  
"That's what I'm saying," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai smiled to herself. She glanced around nervously, afraid of being caught eavesdropping, before she pressed her ear back against the door.  
  
"Here, that side's tilting," the man said.  
  
"I got it," Luke replied. Lorelai heard him grunt loudly, then say, "Dammit, I'm dropping it. Can you get it?"  
  
"I got it, I got it," the man said. They were quiet for a few seconds before the man asked, "So you don't have a picture of her?"  
  
"Nah, not on me," Luke replied. "She said she'd stop by though, so maybe you'll still be here."  
  
Lorelai smiled and pulled back from the door. She quietly walked down the hallway, down into the diner, out the front door and onto the sidewalk. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the apartment. After several rings, Luke answered, "Yeah?"  
  
"Hey," Lorelai said.  
  
"Oh, hey," Luke replied. "What's up?"  
  
"Nothing. Uh, I'm on my way to see you and I . . .just wanted to make sure you weren't too busy," Lorelai said.  
  
"No, it's fine," Luke replied quickly. "We were just about to take a break anyway."  
  
"Uh, we?" Lorelai asked. "Who's we?"  
  
"Oh, me and John," Luke replied. "I think I might've mentioned him before, my friend from Woodbury?"  
  
"Uh, no, I don't recall hearing about him," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Oh, well. . .he's here, he's helping me out," Luke said.  
  
"Well, isn't that nice," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yeah. So, come on up when you get here," Luke replied.  
  
"Okay, see you in a few minutes," Lorelai said. She hung up the phone and slipped it back into her purse, then pulled her compact out and checked her hair and makeup. She put it away and lingered outside the diner for a minute, then finally walked inside and back up to the apartment. The hammering had stopped, and Lorelai knocked on the door. "Luke, it's me!" she called.  
  
A few seconds later, Luke pulled the door open. "Hey."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Hi." She stepped into the apartment and shut the door behind her. Luke put an arm around her waist and led her over to the living room area.  
  
A man around Luke's age with short black hair was sitting on the couch, and he stood up as they approached him. He smiled at Lorelai and extended his hand. "Hey, I'm John."  
  
Lorelai smiled and shook his hand. "Lorelai. Nice to meet you."  
  
"Same here," John replied. Lorelai saw him give her a once over as he sat back down on the couch. Luke sat in the leather armchair across from him.  
  
Lorelai shoved her hands into her pockets and walked over to the corner where they'd been building. "This is coming along pretty well, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, it's almost done," Luke said. "Should only take a few more hours."  
  
"Goes pretty fast when there's two people working on it," John added.  
  
"Yeah, I bet," she replied. She walked back over to them and perched herself on the arm of the armchair. Luke brought his hand up and rubbed her back. Lorelai stared at John for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry - you just look really familiar. Have we met before?"  
  
John shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I would remember you."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "There must be someone out there who looks like you, then."  
  
"Maybe my brother," John suggested. "He's a year younger than me, looks a lot like me."  
  
"Maybe," Lorelai agreed. "What's his name?"  
  
"Jake," he replied. "Jake Milton."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, uh. . .yeah, I do know him, actually."  
  
"Oh really?" Luke asked. "From where?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Oh, you know, just from . . . around." She stood up. "I should get going, let you guys get back to work. Nice meeting you, John."  
  
"Yeah, you too," he replied.  
  
Lorelai started walking quickly toward the door, and Luke stood up and followed her. She stepped into the hallway, and Luke caught her arm. "Whoa, what's the rush?"  
  
"Sorry, I just forgot that I have to meet Sookie," Lorelai replied quickly. She paused a moment. "Are you friends with Jake, too?" she whispered.  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, kind of. I'm closer with John, though. Why?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Just wondering." She kissed him goodbye. "I'll see you later."  
  
"Yeah. . .later. . bye," Luke said, giving her a curious look. He watched as she walked down the hallway and disappeared down the staircase.  
  
* * *  
  
Lorelai walked out of the diner and walked directly to Sookie's house. Jackson was out front watering some flowers, and he turned off the hose as she walked up. "Lorelai, hi."  
  
"Hey Jackson," Lorelai replied. "Is Sookie here?"  
  
"Yeah, she's inside," Jackson said. "Go right in."  
  
"Thanks." Lorelai smiled and walked past him into the house. "Sookie!" she called.  
  
"Lorelai?" Sookie called back. A few seconds later, she walked out of the kitchen door and into the living room. "Hey, what's up? Are you okay?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something."  
  
Sookie sat down on the couch. "I'm all ears." She giggled and added, "Which is pretty funny because I've got some corn cobs going on the stove, so it's sort of -"  
  
"Sookie," Lorelai interrupted.  
  
"Sorry, go on," Sookie replied.  
  
Lorelai slowly paced back and forth in front of the couch. "Okay, remember the guy I went out with a few years ago who looked a little like Charlie Sheen?"  
  
Sookie thought for a minute, then slowly nodded. "I think so. I never met him, but I remember you telling me about him. What was his name?"  
  
"Jake Milton," Lorelai replied. "Well, I just found out a few minutes ago that Jake and Luke are friends."  
  
Sookie's eyes widened. "Ooh, and you and Jake . . ." Her voice trailed off.  
  
"Yes, we did," Lorelai confirmed.  
  
Sookie grimaced. "So that'll be weird if you guys are all. . ."  
  
"I know," Lorelai said, nodding quickly.  
  
"Does Luke know?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, Jake's brother is helping Luke build something in the apartment, and we were talking and he mentioned his brother and when I realized who it was, I left."  
  
"Are you gonna tell him?" Sookie asked. "Or just . . .you know, let sleeping dogs lie?"  
  
"What do you think I should do?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Sookie shrugged. "You know Luke better than I do. Will he care?"  
  
Lorelai thought for a moment, biting her lip pensively. "Hmm, I don't know. Part of me is thinking that he might. . .I don't know, be guy-ish about it."  
  
"Guy-ish?" Sookie asked.  
  
"Yeah. You know, it'll make him get this like whole, 'oh, look, I have your old girl' macho attitude thing," Lorelai explained. "It'll make him feel sort of proud."  
  
"Luke gets like that?" Sookie asked.  
  
"Sometimes," Lorelai replied. She sighed loudly. "I don't know, what should I do? Tell him?"  
  
"You might as well," Sookie said. "I mean, if they're friends, you guys will probably meet again eventually and then Jake'll probably let it slip out eventually, so you might as well just tell him now so that when eventually finally gets here, he'll have already known before the eventually time reached him."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "As confusing as that was, I understood."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Good." She stood up and walked toward the kitchen. "You wanna stay for lunch, honey?"  
  
"No, thanks," Lorelai replied. "Thanks for the advice."  
  
"You're welcome," Sookie called. "Bye."  
  
"Bye." Lorelai walked out the front door.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai and Rory walked through their front door each carrying several shopping bags. Luke was in the living room flipping through a magazine, and he looked up when they entered. He stood up and walked to the front entryway. "Where'd you guys go?"  
  
"Shopping." Lorelai set her bags down as Rory brought hers to her bedroom. "Rory wanted to pick up some new things for her trip next week."  
  
Luke glanced at the bags surrounding them. "Uh huh, and what did you get? I know you didn't go with her just to watch her shop."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Just a few outfits. I promise I didn't waste any money." She reached into one of the bags and pulled out a black tank top with pairs of bright red lips all over it. "Cute, huh?"  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "Uh. . . I guess . . ."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I believe the reply you're looking for is, 'Yes, it is cute'." She put it back in the bag, then pulled out a light pink sleeveless shirt decorated with random rhinestone designs. "What about this one? Isn't it so cool?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"Yup," Luke said. He turned around and walked back into the living room.  
  
Lorelai watched him walk toward the couch, then said, "Um, Luke?"  
  
Luke turned around. "What?"  
  
Lorelai gestured to the front door. "Can you come outside and talk?"  
  
"About?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Uh, just some stuff. . .come outside with me." She walked out the front door and sat on the porch steps, and a few seconds later, Luke joined her. They were both quiet for a few seconds before Lorelai asked, "So, did you get the room done?"  
  
"Yup. Well, we got the walls up. I just have to go buy a door, but that'll only take a few minutes to put up."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Was John there all day?"  
  
"Nah, he left about an hour or so after you did. Had some things to do," Luke said. "He likes you, he said you were nice."  
  
"Nice as in friendly, or nice as in . . .nice to look at?" Lorelai asked, smiling.  
  
Luke smiled. "Both."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
Lorelai nodded and stared at the Jeep. "Uh, I wanted to tell you something about Jake."  
  
"Jake?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes. "John's brother? What about him?"  
  
Lorelai turned to look at him. She took a deep breath and said, "Uh, I slept with him."  
  
Surprised, Luke's face tightened up slightly. "What?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, we went out a few years ago for a couple weeks and. . . I don't know, I just thought I should tell you before we somehow all end up in a room together and then it comes out in the most embarrassing way possible." Lorelai paused a moment and stared at Luke, who was staring straight ahead at the chuppah. Finally, she asked, "Are you mad?"  
  
Luke turned to her and shook his head. "No, I'm not mad. Why would I be mad? It's not like you slept with him yesterday or something."  
  
"I know, but I don't want things to be weird between you guys or something," Lorelai said.  
  
"It won't be weird. It'll actually be interesting - we can compare notes," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai laughed and slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Very funny."  
  
Luke smiled. "It's fine, no big deal." He shrugged and added, "I mean, I'm sure there are tons of guys out there you've slept with. I'm bound to know one or two of them." He started to stand up.  
  
Lorelai grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him back down. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What did you just say?"  
  
Luke landed back on the porch steps with a thud. "Geez, what?"  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "'There are tons of guys out there you've slept with' - what the hell does that mean?"  
  
Luke shifted on the porch and gestured aimlessly with his hands. "I just meant that, a 33 year old woman who looks like you is obviously gonna have dated a lot of guys and so. . ." Luke tried to explain. "I didn't mean that you're . . ."  
  
"No, what you mean is that you think that I'm easy and that I've slept with every guy I've gone out with," Lorelai said knowingly. She shook her head toward the ground. "Nice. . .that's a real nice thing to think about someone you love, Luke."  
  
Luke sighed. "Lorelai, that's not what I meant."  
  
"If you'll remember, we went out for almost a month before we slept together," Lorelai wagged her finger at him. "Even though I'd known you for years, we still waited awhile."  
  
"I know, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it the way it sounded. . . but, look, I'll say the same thing about me," Luke said. "There are girls out there that I've been with and . . .I mean, you might know some of them. It's just a coincidence, it's no big deal."  
  
Lorelai was quiet for a moment, then slowly turned to look at him. "How many?"  
  
"How many what?" he asked, confused.  
  
"How many women have you slept with?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke laughed. "What?"  
  
"Seriously, give me a number," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke's smile faded. "You give me a number," he retorted.  
  
"I will - but I asked you first."  
  
"I don't know it offhand," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai stood up. "Me either. Let's go inside and figure it out, and then we'll each write down the number so we can't change it when the other person announces theirs."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "This is stupid."  
  
"No, this is fun," Lorelai said. "Come on." She walked into the house and left the door open for him to follow. Luke sat on the steps for a few more seconds until Lorelai called, "Come on!"  
  
He sighed loudly, then reluctantly stood up and walked into the house. Lorelai sat at the kitchen table with a piece of paper in front of her, biting on the end of a pen. She gestured to the seat across from her, where she'd set a piece of paper and a pencil for him. He sat down, mumbling, "This is so stupid."  
  
"Yeah, well, you should've thought about that before you called me a slut," Lorelai mumbled.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Okay, you're being a little dramatic now, don't you think?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "It's what I do. Now get writing."  
  
Luke sighed loudly and picked up his pencil. "You want phone numbers and addresses, too?" he asked sarcastically.  
  
"If you can remember them - yes, it'd be appreciated," Lorelai said.  
  
* * *  
  
A short while later, Lorelai looked up from her paper and announced, "Done!"  
  
Luke was staring at her with his arms folded across his chest. He checked his watch. "I've been done for like eight minutes."  
  
"Well, sorry, you must have a better memory than me," Lorelai said. "What's your number?"  
  
"What's your number?" he responded.  
  
"Okay, we'll trade papers," she said. She slid hers toward him as he did the same. They grabbed each other's paper and looked at them at the same time.  
  
"Seven," Lorelai read. She lowered the paper. "Ooh, that's a good number, not too big, not too small."  
  
"Thirteen," Luke read. "Huh. . . kinda high."  
  
Lorelai grabbed her paper back. "What are you talking about? It's not that many. . . I didn't start until I was fifteen, so that's thirteen guys over an eighteen-year period. When you think about it, that's not really that bad. In fact, that's probably kind of low for most people."  
  
"Low for most people?" Luke said with a laugh. "Are you serious?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Please, Luke - welcome to the twenty-first century. Kids are practically having sex in elementary school. Their totals are gonna be way higher than my puny little thirteen."  
  
Luke grabbed her paper back and stared at it. "Thirteen, huh? You still see any of these guys?"  
  
"Only at the annual 'We Slept with Lorelai Gilmore' convention that we hold at the inn each summer," Lorelai said, smiling. "Ooh, and you get to attend this year, won't that be fun?" she asked, tapping him excitedly on the arm.  
  
Luke crumbled up the paper and tossed it on the table. "Loads," he said dryly.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "What's wrong? Don't tell me you're mad because I've been with more people than you," she said with a groan.  
  
"I'm not mad," he said with a shrug.  
  
"Oh yeah, then why aren't you looking at me?" she asked.  
  
Luke widened his eyes. "I'm looking at you, see?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and stood up from the table. She grabbed the lists and threw them away, then walked back over and stood behind her chair. "Would it make you feel better if I told you that. . . honestly, no lie, I swear on my own life. . .that you're better than the other twelve?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "No." He paused a moment, then looked up at her. "Seriously?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Cross my heart. Be sure to tell Jake that the next time you see him."  
  
Luke smiled. "I will." He stood up and walked over to her. He hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead before he pressed his lips against hers. A soft moan escaped her throat as the kiss deepened with passion, and as the intensity overwhelmed them, neither heard Rory's bedroom door open.  
  
"Uh, I'll come back out when you're done," Rory's embarrassed voice said. She started to walk back into her bedroom as Lorelai opened her eyes and pulled back from Luke.  
  
"Sorry, sorry, we're done now," Lorelai said, panting slightly.  
  
Rory turned around. "Are you sure? I can just go wait in my room and you can give me a little signal when you're done."  
  
Luke gave an embarrassed nod and stammered, "Yeah, uh, we're. . .I think . . ya know. . .we were. . . I'm gonna. . ."  
  
Lorelai smiled and patted him on the back. "All very good points, hon," she said encouragingly.  
  
Luke gestured toward the living room. "I'll be in there." He walked out of the kitchen.  
  
"I'm going over Lane's for a while," Rory said. "Can I invite her back here for dinner?"  
  
"Yeah, what do you want?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Pizza?" Rory suggested.  
  
"Sounds good," Lorelai said. "Take some money from my purse and pick up a movie to watch while we eat."  
  
"Old or new?" Rory asked.  
  
"Hmm, whatever jumps out at you," Lorelai said with a shrug.  
  
"Got it," Rory said.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai was asleep in bed when she felt Luke tossing and turning next to her. She lifted her head up and watched him for a few seconds, and when he settled down, Lorelai rested her head back against the pillow and tried to go back to sleep.  
  
A few seconds later, she heard Luke chuckle in his sleep. She opened her eyes and watched him, smiling to herself. He was still fast asleep and had a small smile on his lips, and Lorelai wondered what he was dreaming about. As she rested her head back against the pillow, she heard him groggily mutter, "Come on, Rachel."  
  
Lorelai gasped softly. Her eyes widened and she lifted her head to look at him. "Oh my God," she whispered. She tapped him repeatedly on the shoulder. "Luke, Luke, wake up!"  
  
Surprised, Luke opened his eyes and quickly sat up. "What is it, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.  
  
"I'm fine," Lorelai replied. "What were you just dreaming about?"  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes and glared at her. "You woke me up at three in the morning to ask me that?" He fell back against his pillow and covered his face with his hands.  
  
"Yes, I'm just curious what you're dreaming about that would make you say Rachel's name in your sleep," she said pointedly.  
  
Luke removed his hands from his face and looked at her. "I did?"  
  
"Yes, you did," Lorelai said. "What were you doing?"  
  
Luke stared up at the ceiling for a minute. "I don't know, I don't remember."  
  
"It just happened a second ago and you already forgot about it?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Let me think about it," Luke said. He closed his eyes for several seconds, trying to remember the dream. Finally, he opened them and said, "Oh, I remember."  
  
"What was it?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke smiled. "Actually, it's pretty funny. Me and you were standing out front on the porch, and you told me you wanted to meet the other women that I had slept with, so suddenly women just started appearing around the house. I didn't even recognize half of them, but I was lining them up in chronological order along the driveway, and Rachel was the last one and she didn't want to stand in line with the others because she was too busy trying to take pictures of all of them."  
  
Lorelai laughed quietly. "I can see that happening. What was I doing?"  
  
"You were standing on the porch with Rory and Kirk," Luke said.  
  
"Kirk?" Lorelai asked with a laugh.  
  
"Yeah, don't ask me how Kirk got in there, but he was there. Anyway, you guys were going to rank the women according to who was prettiest, but you were getting mad because Rachel wouldn't get in line, so you ran over and grabbed her camera and threw it on the roof. Then I started laughing and Rachel got mad and started to leave. . . .and that's where it ended." Luke yawned. "Can I go back to sleep now?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Yes, goodnight." She rested her head against Luke's chest and went back to sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 36  
  
* * *  
  
A few days later, Lorelai and Rory sat at the kitchen table talking as Luke stood at the stove cooking breakfast. Lorelai was making out a list of things to do for the surprise shower she was planning for Sookie.  
  
"Where's it gonna be?" Rory asked.  
  
"Here," Lorelai replied. "I was thinking of asking Babette if we could use her house and yard, too."  
  
"Ooh, that'll be cool, and it'll give us more space to work with," Rory said. "Good idea."  
  
"Have I ever had a bad idea?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Uh, yeah," Rory said with a laugh. "What about the time - "  
  
Lorelai held up her hand. "Okay, stop, we don't need specifics."  
  
Luke placed a plate of pancakes in the center of the table. "No, I'd like some specifics. Go on."  
  
Lorelai frowned up at him as she grabbed a couple of pancakes from the stack and dropped them on her plate.  
  
Rory smiled. "Okay. Well, there was the time that she bought that Nads hair removal gel from that infomercial and thought it would be - "  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Five bucks if you stop right now!" she yelled, waving her hands wildly at Rory.  
  
Rory laughed and shook her head. "I don't know, Mom. Luke looks like he *really* wants to hear the rest of the story."  
  
Lorelai grimaced. "Twenty bucks if you promise never to bring it up again for the rest of your life!"  
  
Rory smirked. "Deal." She glanced up at Luke and whispered, "Tell you later."  
  
Luke smiled and walked over to the stove. "Is that enough pancakes or should I do another batch?"  
  
Lorelai and Rory both glanced at the pile. At the same time, they replied "Another batch."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Called that one."  
  
Lorelai shoved a forkful of pancake into her mouth. "Mm, you know what's weird?"  
  
"That they don't have more 24-hour marathons of the Golden Girls?" Rory suggested.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Good guess, but no." She stabbed a piece of pancake with her fork, then lifted it up to stare at it. "It's weird that we're eating food that we'd normally get at the diner and it tastes like it was made at the diner, yet it was made in our own kitchen."  
  
Rory narrowed her eyes. "Um. . .okay."  
  
"I mean, doesn't it make you feel special to know that we get to eat diner- tasting food right in our own home? It's like having a built-in diner chef. . .which is basically what it is, I guess. Ooh, this is what it must be like to live with Sookie!" Lorelai said excitedly.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Well, it certainly makes me feel special that I'm no longer Luke, but just. . .the built-in diner chef. Nice - thanks for that."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You're welcome. You know, I bet all of the kitchen appliances are really happy that they're finally being used after all these years."  
  
"Or else they're really mad because they'd gotten so used to living a lazy life of nonexistence," Rory commented.  
  
"Hm, good point," Lorelai said. "I'll talk to them later and find out how they're feeling." She shoved a forkful of food into her mouth and chewed it slowly.  
  
A few seconds later, footsteps rumbled down the staircase and Jess walked into the kitchen. He set a book on the table and said, "Hey," then walked to the refrigerator.  
  
"Hey," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hey," Rory said. She picked up the book he'd set down. "Reading this again?"  
  
Lorelai glanced over at it and her eyes widened. "Ham on Rye! Ooh, is that a book about food?"  
  
Rory laughed and set it back down. "Uh, no, not exactly."  
  
Jess walked back over with a plate and fork and sat down at the table. He took a couple pancakes from the pile and put them on his plate.  
  
"A book with that name that's not about food shouldn't have that name in the first place," Lorelai remarked. "It's misleading."  
  
"Yeah, well, I'll bring that up to the author next time I talk to him," Jess said, shoving a forkful of food in his mouth.  
  
"Good," Lorelai said. "Thank you."  
  
Luke slid some more pancakes onto the serving plate, then returned the pan to the stove. He grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and sat down at the table. He took a bite of it, then asked Jess, "You're working today, right?"  
  
"Yup," Jess replied. He rolled his eyes and added, "Wait, let me guess - you gonna do your little casual drop-by?"  
  
"Maybe," Luke retorted.  
  
Jess sighed and muttered, "Geez."  
  
"Hey, part of the deal is that I check up on you at work," Luke said sternly.  
  
"I know, I know," Jess replied.  
  
"And I'll still be checking up on you when you move out," Luke reminded him. "You lose that job, you're right back here, remember?"  
  
"I know," he replied in a slightly annoyed tone.  
  
Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, are you excited about having your own place?"  
  
Jess shrugged. "Should be cool."  
  
"You might get bored being all by yourself all the time, though. You can still hang out here. . .you know, if you want to. You'll still be welcome here," Lorelai said sincerely. "You know, especially since we've got the built-in chef and everything."  
  
Jess shoved a piece of pancake into his mouth and nodded. "Thanks."  
  
They ate for a few more minutes before Luke stood up from the table. "Okay, I gotta get to work. I cooked breakfast, so you guys have to clean it up."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "That's not how it works at the diner."  
  
"Yeah, well, newsflash - this ain't the diner." Luke leaned down and kissed her quickly on the cheek. "Plus, you like washing dishes anyway." He walked out of the kitchen, grabbed his keys from the hallway table, and walked out the front door.  
  
Lorelai jumped up from the table. "Oh, shoot, I forgot to. . ." her voice trailed off as she ran out the back door to catch him before he left. Luke was already climbing into his truck as Lorelai called, "Luke, wait a second!"  
  
He got into the truck and shut the door. He started the engine, then rolled down the window as she walked over to him. "What is it?" he asked.  
  
"Remember, the air conditioning guy's coming today," Lorelai reminded him.  
  
"Oh, right, right," Luke said, nodding. "What time?"  
  
"They said between one and four," Lorelai said. "I can probably get here at like. . .I don't know, two-thirty-ish. Can you be here at one?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, I'll try."  
  
"Okay." Lorelai leaned through the window and kissed him. "Bye."  
  
* * *  
  
That afternoon, as Lorelai was driving home from the inn, her cell phone rang. She fished for it in her purse and answered it. "Hello?  
  
"Hey," Luke replied. "They're here, so you don't have to rush home to wait for 'em."  
  
"Aw, well, I took a half day, so I'm gonna come home anyway." Lorelai thought for a moment, then said, "Ooh, actually, you know what? Now that I have some free time, I'm gonna stop at the pharmacy and pick up my prescription."  
  
"Prescription?" Luke asked.  
  
"Yeah, it's a medical term used when a doctor gives you - " Lorelai started.  
  
"Yes, I know what a prescription is," Luke interrupted with a groan.  
  
"Okay, well, you said it like you'd never heard of it before, sorry," Lorelai said with a laugh.  
  
"Are you sick?" Luke asked nervously. "Because whatever you have, I probably have now, too."  
  
"No, I'm not sick," Lorelai assured him.  
  
"You're not sick?" he asked in a slightly confused tone.  
  
"Nope." Lorelai paused a moment, then smiled to herself. "Luke? Have you caught on yet or would you like for me to completely spell it out for you?"  
  
"Spell it out," he replied.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Okay, well, I'm going to drive this thing called a Jeep over to this building called a pharmacy to pick up a little bag, and - "  
  
Luke sighed loudly. "Get on with it, I don't have all day."  
  
Lorelai smiled and continued, "And inside that little bag will be a container filled with magic pills that enable a certain part of your body to enter a certain opening of mine, all while maintaining a ninety-nine percent guarantee of pregnancy prevention."  
  
"Ah," Luke replied knowingly.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah."  
  
"Thanks for not being too blunt," Luke said sarcastically.  
  
Lorelai giggled. "You're welcome. Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, Lorelai walked through the front door of her house and called, "Luke?"  
  
"Kitchen!" he called back.  
  
Lorelai set her purse and keys on the table near the front door, then walked to the kitchen. Luke was sitting at the table writing in the checkbook. Lorelai sat down next to him and asked, "What are you doing?"  
  
"Thinking about your cloud underwear," Luke replied, not looking up.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Besides that."  
  
"Hold on." Luke finished writing, then closed the checkbook and put the pen down. "I just paid the air conditioning people, so I had to write it in."  
  
"Ooh, did they fix it?" Lorelai asked hopefully.  
  
"Yup, it's all taken care of," Luke replied as he stood up. "I'm heading back to the diner."  
  
Lorelai stood up and clasped his hand as she walked with him to the front door. Before he pulled it open, he turned to her and kissed her long and deep. Lorelai brought her hands to his face and ran her fingers over the stubble on his cheeks. As their lips pulled apart from each other, Luke fingered the diamond solitaire hanging around her neck.  
  
Lorelai glanced down at it. "It's beautiful," she said softly.  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah." He slowly brought his gaze up and locked eyes with hers. "So are you."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. After several seconds, she pulled back and asked, "Is that coming from the Luke who has to go back to the diner right this second?"  
  
"As opposed to. . ."  
  
Lorelai kissed him again as she slipped her hands up the front of his shirt and ran them over his chest. "As opposed to the Luke who has fifteen minutes to spare," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.  
  
Luke glanced at his watch. "It's coming from the Luke who said he'd be at the diner five minutes ago."  
  
"Aw, that's too bad." Lorelai started walking backwards away from him, casually unbuttoning her shirt.  
  
He stared at her for a moment, then smiled and slowly started following her. "But Caesar probably won't mind if I'm a little late."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "That's what I like to hear." She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the staircase.  
  
* * *  
  
Shortly after Luke had gone back to the diner, Lorelai walked through their bedroom and picked up the clothes they had strewn across the floor. She tossed them into the clothes basket and brought the basket to the washing machine.  
  
As she tossed his clothes into the washer, she noticed a slip of paper sticking out of his jeans pocket. She pulled it out and set it on the dryer, then finished throwing his clothes into the machine.  
  
After she had started it, she picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it. As she read it, her eyes widened. "Huh."  
  
* * *  
  
A few minutes later, Lorelai walked into the diner and sat down at the counter. Luke finished with a customer at the register, then he walked over to her and smiled. "Hey, you didn't say you'd be coming in."  
  
"Yeah, well, I didn't expect to," Lorelai replied dryly.  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her expression and tone. "What's wrong?"  
  
She pulled the piece of paper out of her purse and put it on the counter. "Who's Kathy?"  
  
Confused, Luke picked up the paper and read it. "Oh, this is nothing." He lowered the paper and saw her scowling at him, and he let out a small laugh. "Lorelai, it's nothing, calm down."  
  
"I'm completely calm," she said, shrugging nonchalantly. She picked up the piece of paper and added, "But I was just wondering who Kathy is, and why you have both her cell number and home number." She put down the paper and stared at him expectantly.  
  
"Kathy's a customer who came in this morning," Luke explained.  
  
"Oh, and customers are just randomly giving you their phone numbers?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"No, I - " Luke started.  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "And if that's not strange enough, you're actually keeping them? What, are you saving them just in case things don't work out between us?" she asked accusingly.  
  
Luke sighed. "Will you just let me talk?" he asked in an annoyed tone. "She and I went to high school together. She moved out of town right after graduation and she just moved back here a few weeks ago. She wants to get together next week for coffee so we can catch up."  
  
"Oh. . .well, isn't that nice," Lorelai mumbled. "Too bad you hate coffee."  
  
"So, I'll get tea," Luke replied with a shrug. He tilted his head and smirked at her. "Are you jealous?"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "No way."  
  
Luke smiled and walked over to the coffeepot. "Yes, you are." He poured some into a takeout cup and placed it in front of her. "I don't know why you are, but you are."  
  
Lorelai shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I'm not jealous." She was quiet for a few seconds. "So. . . you're gonna . . .get together with this girl?"  
  
"I don't know, maybe," Luke replied with a shrug. "Is there a problem?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Nope, no problem. You can hang out with whoever you want to."  
  
Luke smiled. "Good."  
  
Lorelai took a sip of coffee, then stared down at the counter. "Kathy. . .Kathy. . ." Lorelai said. "Why does that name sound familiar?"  
  
"I don't know, maybe because it's one of the most common female names in the country?" he suggested, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai stared into space for a moment, muttering, "Kathy. . . Kathy. . . where did I see that name recently?" A few seconds later, she gasped loudly.  
  
"Geez. . .what now?" Luke asked with a sigh.  
  
"Kathy was girl number one!" Lorelai hissed, slapping her hand on the counter. "She was the first name on your list!"  
  
Luke didn't reply; instead, he started wiping down the counter.  
  
Lorelai gave him a sly smile. "Oh my God! She was, wasn't she?"  
  
Luke smiled slightly. "Maybe she was - why does it matter?"  
  
"Oh, it doesn't matter," Lorelai said, shaking her head quickly. "It doesn't matter at all. If you wanna go out for coffee with the girl who took your virginity, that's fine with me. Go right ahead. No problem here."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Glad to hear you're okay with it."  
  
Lorelai stood up from the counter. "Yup, I'm fine, perfectly fine. Uh, just out of curiosity, what's her last name?"  
  
Luke looked at her curiously. "Why?"  
  
"Just wondering," Lorelai answered with a shrug.  
  
Luke stared at her for a moment, then smiled. "You're gonna go home and look for my old yearbook, aren't you?"  
  
Lorelai grimaced slightly, then turned around and walked away calling, "No idea what you're talking about." Luke shook his head and smiled to himself as he watched her walk out of the diner.  
  
* * *  
  
When Luke arrived home from work that night, Rory was sitting on the couch watching TV, and she looked up as he entered the room. "Hey Luke."  
  
"Hey," he replied. "Uh, how was your day?"  
  
"Good - worked at the inn a little, went shopping with Lane," she replied. "How was yours?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Eh, can't complain." He glanced toward the kitchen. "Is your mom. . ."  
  
Rory pointed to the ceiling. "Upstairs."  
  
Luke nodded. "Thanks." He walked up the steps and found that their bedroom door was closed. He was about to walk right in, but then hesitated and decided to knock first. "Lorelai?"  
  
A few seconds later, Lorelai pulled open the door wearing only her bra and underwear. Luke stepped into the room and kissed her hello, and after she had locked the door, she walked over to the mirror. She turned around several times, looking at herself from all angles.  
  
Luke sat down on the bed and watched her for a few seconds before asking, "Uh. . .this isn't gonna be one of those moments where you ask me if your butt looks big and then, no matter what I say, you get all upset and I have to comfort you and convince you that it's not, is it?"  
  
Lorelai turned around and smiled at him. She waved him off and said, "No, I know I have a nice butt." She paused a moment, then cleared her throat and gestured for him to say something.  
  
Luke smiled. "Oh, sorry - yes, it's a nice butt."  
  
Lorelai grinned. "Thank you."  
  
"So, then, what are you doing?" Luke asked.  
  
"Just trying this stuff on. You didn't even notice that these are new, did you?" Lorelai asked accusingly.  
  
Luke shrugged. "They all look the same to me."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Why do I even bother buying new things?"  
  
"Got me," he replied. He stood up and walked over to his dresser. He set his wallet on top of it, then sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes.  
  
Lorelai pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt, then sat down on the bed. "So. . .did you call that girl?"  
  
Luke turned his head to look back at her. "Have you been worrying about this all night?"  
  
"No, I'm not worrying. . .I'm just. . .wondering. I just. . . like to know what's going on with you," Lorelai said.  
  
"Look, if I do decide to go and meet with her, it probably won't be until next week," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai nodded and casually picked lint off of her shirt.  
  
Luke shook his head slightly. "Look, if you're really bothered by it, I don't have to go, okay? It really doesn't matter to me, anyway. I just didn't want to be rude."  
  
"No, if you wanna go, you should go," Lorelai told him. "I'm not gonna keep you from going."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Lorelai stood up and walked to the door. She pulled it open, then turned to him, "So, do you think you're gonna go?"  
  
Luke sighed and gave her a pointed look.  
  
She grimaced and said, "Uh, never mind. Forget I asked that last question." She stepped into the hallway and said, "I'll be downstairs watching tv."  
  
Luke nodded toward her. "I'll be down in a minute."  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Luke walked down into the kitchen and poured himself some orange juice. As he was about to sit at the table, the back door opened and Lorelai walked in. She smiled when she saw him. "Hey."  
  
Luke sat down. "Hey. Where were you? Early morning jog?' he suggested jokingly.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Right, yeah." She walked over and kissed him, then sat down next to him. "No, I was asking Babette about using her house and yard for Sookie's wedding shower. She said it's fine."  
  
"Good," Luke said.  
  
"So now I have to go buy invitations and everything and get it all set up," Lorelai said.  
  
"When is it?" Luke asked.  
  
"Two weeks from this Saturday," Lorelai replied. "Ooh, it's gonna be so exciting! Are you gonna be able to bake stuff? Because for big parties like this, Sookie usually does all the cooking and everything, so I'm really gonna need your help."  
  
"You sound desperate," Luke commented.  
  
"I am," Lorelai replied. "Can you help a poor, lonely, desperate woman in need?"  
  
"Well, it's what I do best," he replied.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." She walked over and poured herself a cup of coffee, then walked over to the refrigerator and pulled it open. "You know, we really have to go shopping before this weekend. There isn't anything good to have our 9½ Weeks scene with."  
  
"Uh, the jury's still out on that idea," Luke told her.  
  
Lorelai gasped and turned around. "What? No! I've been looking forward to it for weeks!"  
  
Luke made a face. "I don't know."  
  
She walked over and sat down. "Come on! You loved it when we did it with just whipped cream, remember?" Lorelai reminded him. "We'll use that again if you want - they even have fat free!"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know, I'll think about it."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "We're doing it, even if I have to tie you down." She paused a moment, then smiled. "Hmm, there's an idea to add to the 'To Do' list for this weekend."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Please."  
  
"Okay, I'll be the one tied up," she offered.  
  
"Forget it."  
  
"You don't like the sound of it now, but once we get nice and liquored up. . .you'll be into it," Lorelai assured him. "Trust me."  
  
"So now we're getting all liquored up, too?" Luke asked in disbelief. "Geez, anything else you have planned that I should know about? Should I tell Caesar I won't be in for awhile just in case I end up getting arrested?"  
  
"That would be a good precautionary measure to take, yes," Lorelai said, nodding her head. Luke rolled his eyes and sipped his juice. Lorelai sipped her coffee, then said, "Oh, Rory needs the suitcases from the attic. Can you get them for her sometime today?"  
  
Luke finished his juice, then stood up. "I'll go get them now. How many does she need?"  
  
"Well, she's going for five days, so I'd say. . .what, one per day?" Lorelai suggested.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "We're talking about Rory, not you."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Oh, right. I'd say just the two biggest ones, then."  
  
"Okay, come help me get 'em down," Luke said.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that afternoon, Lorelai walked into the kitchen of the inn. "Okay, I'm back."  
  
"That was fast," Sookie commented. "What did Michel want?"  
  
"He needed me to sign some things," Lorelai said. "I swear, my work is never done."  
  
Sookie giggled. "Yeah, you're so overworked - the woman who takes the whole afternoon off just so she can pick up something from the pharmacy."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Hey, I told you, that's not why I took off, that's just how it panned out."  
  
"I know, I know," Sookie said, smiling. "I'm just teasing."  
  
"So, where was I before Michel so rudely interrupted?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Um, you were telling me about your dream last night. . .something about dogs," Sookie said.  
  
"Oh, right, right," Lorelai said, nodding. "Okay, so I'm walking near the gazebo and I see a group of Chihuahuas walking from the other direction and suddenly I get this weird craving for tacos."  
  
Sookie nodded. "Uh huh."  
  
"Right, so I walk toward the diner to tell Luke that I'm gonna go get some tacos and I get inside and the place is totally deserted, even though it's like right in the middle of the dinner rush," Lorelai said.  
  
Sookie leaned forward on the counter and rested her chin in her palms, captivated by the story. "Weird."  
  
"Yeah. So I walk up to the apartment to look for Luke, but he's not up there. I come back down and look in the kitchen, and he's not in there either. So I'm standing at the counter and . . .it's like, I know he's there somewhere, it's this gut instinct that I have that he's there, you know?"  
  
Sookie nodded. "Yup, go on."  
  
"So I walk to the storage room and the door is shut. I turn the knob and push it open and. . . there's Luke," Lorelai said.  
  
Sookie's eyes widened and she winced. "Ooh, please don't tell me he was all gross and bloody with his limbs only barely attached by one tiny thread of skin or something!"  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes and let out a laugh. "Man, what kind of freaky dreams do you have?"  
  
Sookie waved her off. "Go on, go on."  
  
"So, there was Luke. . ." Lorelai paused dramatically, then continued, ". . .having sex with another woman on the floor." Lorelai pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest.  
  
Sookie gasped. "Oh, that rat! I can't believe he dream-cheated on you!"  
  
"I know!" Lorelai exclaimed.  
  
"Oh man, what was he thinking?" Sookie shook her head disappointedly. "Who was the girl? Anyone we know?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "I didn't recognize her - but it was one of those things where you *know* who it is, even though you don't recognize her."  
  
"So who was it?" Sookie asked.  
  
"Kathy," Lorelai muttered.  
  
Sookie rolled her eyes. "Oh God, not this again. Did we not spend half an hour on the phone last night talking about how it's no big deal that he might possibly have coffee with this girl?"  
  
"Yes," Lorelai mumbled.  
  
"And aren't you the one who came out and said - and I quote - 'I know Luke would never cheat on me'?" Sookie asked.  
  
"Yes," she mumbled.  
  
"So, then, why are you so worried about it?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai shifted her feet and sighed loudly. "I don't know. I'm just. . .I wanna know things about her. I wanna see what she looks like. I wanna know what kind of girl. . ."  
  
"What kind of girl he used to like all those years ago?" Sookie suggested.  
  
"Maybe," Lorelai replied. "I couldn't find his stupid yearbook anywhere. This is the first girl he slept with, Sookie, and I just . . ." She let her voice trail off as she thought for a moment. Suddenly, she said, "Help me follow them."  
  
"What?" Sookie asked with a laugh.  
  
"Come on, I'll find out where they're gonna meet and we'll just casually - "  
  
"No way." Sookie shook her head. "You have to trust him and leave him alone."  
  
"I do trust him, I just wanna see her," Lorelai said.  
  
Sookie sighed. "I know you do, but if you do something like follow them around, you're just gonna get him mad at you," she pointed out.  
  
Lorelai sighed and muttered, "I know."  
  
"So you should just forget about it," Sookie said.  
  
"I know."  
  
"Good. Will you?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Probably not."  
  
"Didn't think so," Sookie replied.  
  
Lorelai was quiet for a moment, then shook her head slightly. "Okay, he's not gonna see her until next week, right? So, I'll just forget about it until next week. I have the weekend to concentrate on," she said, rubbing her hands together excitedly.  
  
"Ooh, big plans, huh?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yup, it will definitely be a weekend to remember." She reached up and tucked her hair behind her ears.  
  
Sookie glanced at Lorelai's neck and said, "Oh, finally took off the necklace, huh?"  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "What?"  
  
"The necklace he gave you - this is the first time I've seen you without it since you got it," Sookie said.  
  
Lorelai put her hand on her neck, feeling for it. "What? I had it on this morning." Lorelai ran her hands frantically along her neck and upper chest. "Oh my God, where is it? It's not there!"  
  
"You sure you had it on?" Sookie asked.  
  
"I'm positive!" Lorelai exclaimed. She pulled on her collar and looked down her shirt. "Oh God, Sookie, that was his mother's!"  
  
"I know, I know. We'll find it," Sookie assured her. "Calm down."  
  
Lorelai stared worriedly into space. "Okay, I know I put it on after my shower this morning. . .I'm pretty sure I felt it when I was in the kitchen. . .I *think* I had it on in the car. . ." Lorelai grabbed Sookie's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Oh my God, Sookie, what am I gonna tell him? Man, now I totally know how Rory felt when she lost her bracelet! This is exactly the same thing. . .except that she lost a piece of leather and some scrap metal that her boyfriend made in like five minutes, whereas I lost a five hundred dollar diamond that was in my boyfriend's family for like thirty years - other than that, it's completely the same thing."  
  
"Honey, breathe," Sookie told her. "Just relax, we'll find it. Why don't you start off by checking the car?"  
  
Lorelai swallowed hard and nodded. "The car, good idea. I'll go check the car." She rushed out the back door and headed toward the parking lot.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 37  
  
* * *  
  
A few minutes later, Lorelai walked back into the kitchen and Sookie could tell by the distressed look on her face that she hadn't found the necklace. "No luck, Sweetie?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai shook her head and bit her bottom lip nervously. Her gaze went to the floor and she scanned the linoleum for the necklace. "Where are you, little necklace?" she muttered.  
  
Sookie put her hand on Lorelai's back and led her to the lobby door. "Listen, I'll check in here, you go check in the lobby, okay?"  
  
Lorelai gave one more glance to the floor surrounding her before she nodded. "Okay, let me know if you find it."  
  
"That was pretty much my plan," Sookie assured her. "Go on."  
  
Lorelai walked into the lobby and over to the front desk where Michel was entering some information into the computer. "Michel, I need you to help me."  
  
"No," he replied.  
  
"Michel, I lost the necklace Luke gave me," Lorelai whined. "It's very old and very valuable and I have to find it!"  
  
"Why would he give you something so important?" Michel asked. "Doesn't he know that you are very irresponsible?"  
  
Lorelai frowned. "I'm not irresponsible. It was an accident - just like the 'accident' involving a local Frenchman that will headline the papers tomorrow if you don't help me."  
  
Michel gave an annoyed sigh. "Fine, if it will make me stop having to listen to your voice, I will do it."  
  
"Thank you for doing 'eet'," Lorelai said, mocking his accent. He gave her a stern glare, which she ignored as she added, "Okay, I'm gonna go check my office, you check out here. Check everywhere - leave no stone unturned." Michel huffed loudly as Lorelai walked away from the desk.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that afternoon, back at home, Lorelai and Rory were both searching the house for the necklace. Rory was crawling around on the kitchen floor as Lorelai dug through the sofa cushions. "Anything yet?" Rory called.  
  
"Did you hear me scream excitedly?" Lorelai called back.  
  
"No!"  
  
"There's your answer!"  
  
A few minutes later, Rory walked into the living room and announced, "It's definitely not in the kitchen. I checked everywhere."  
  
Lorelai, who was lying on the floor looking under the sofa, sat up and sighed loudly. "Did you check the fridge?"  
  
"Yup," Rory replied.  
  
"Inside all the cabinets and drawers?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yup, everywhere. Every possible crevice of that kitchen has been checked and re-checked," Rory said. "I'm sorry - it's not in there."  
  
Lorelai stood up and glanced around disappointedly. "It's not in here either. He's gonna kill me," she said, shaking her head toward the ground.  
  
"No, he's not," Rory said.  
  
"Yes, he is," Lorelai insisted. "You're gonna be an orphan and end up at some orphanage and have to eat cold mush three times a day like in Annie."  
  
"Okay, first off, I wouldn't be an orphan - I'd probably go live with Grandma and Grandpa, and it'd probably be pretty cool since they have all those maids and chefs and stuff. Plus, I'd be right near Chilton, so that would be really convenient," Rory said. Lorelai rolled her eyes and waved for her to continue. "And secondly. . .Mom, he knows accidents happen, he knows you didn't do it on purpose."  
  
"Yeah, but he'll still be disappointed!" Lorelai put her arms on Rory's shoulders and squeezed them. "Dammit, why didn't I feel that it was missing!"  
  
"For the same reason I didn't feel that the bracelet was missing," Rory said. "You get so used to wearing it that you forget that you're even wearing anything at all."  
  
Lorelai fell back onto the couch with a loud sigh. Rory started walking toward the front door. "I'll check the front porch again."  
  
Lorelai sat on the couch, nervously biting on her thumbnail as she ran over in her mind what she would tell Luke when he got home later that night.  
  
A few minutes later, Rory walked back into the house and said in a loud whisper, "Mom, Luke's home!"  
  
Lorelai jumped up from the couch. "He's here? Why is he home so early?"  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "How would I know? Maybe he lost something and he wanted to come home and search the house for it."  
  
Lorelai made a face, then waved Rory out of the room as she walked to the front door and pulled it open. Luke was walking up the front porch with a questioning look on his face. "Hey. What are you doing home?" he asked.  
  
"Hey. I'd ask you the same thing," Lorelai replied.  
  
"I left my supply ledger here and I need to do inventory later," Luke replied. "Your turn."  
  
Lorelai cleared her throat nervously and looked down at her shoes. "Oh. . .uh, just . . . helping Rory pack." She looked up at him and forced a smile.  
  
Luke nodded, accepting this explanation without question, and walked past her into the house. He picked up his supply ledger from the desk in the living room, then walked back to the front door.  
  
Luke held up the book. "Got it." He smiled and kissed her. "I'll see you tonight."  
  
"Tonight. . .right. . .I'll probably see you tonight," Lorelai said, nodding in agreement. "You know, because you live here now, and I still live here, so we see each other at night. . .because we live together." She paused a moment and shoved her hands into her pockets, then added, "Rory and Jess also live here. We all. . . you know, live here. . .in this house. . .together." She rocked on her feet and clicked her tongue. "Yup. . .that's right."  
  
Luke stepped back and eyed her curiously. "You okay?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Mmhmm, fine, great, everything's fine."  
  
"Lorelai," Luke said sternly.  
  
She gestured toward Rory's bedroom. "Uh, me and Rory are just gonna go pack some more." She started to walk past him, but he reached out and gently took hold of her wrist. She turned around and looked up at him nervously.  
  
"What's up with you?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Nothing."  
  
Luke gave an annoyed sigh. "Look, I know I ain't the most receptive guy all the time, but right now I can tell something's up, so what's up?"  
  
Lorelai slipped out of his grasp and said, "Luke, everything's fine. It's just. . .you know, helping Rory pack is making me a little. . . weepy."  
  
"Oh," Luke nodded knowingly. "Don't let it get you down, she'll be back before you know it."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I know." She leaned up and kissed him. "I'll see you tonight." Luke nodded toward her and walked out the front door, pulling it closed behind him. Lorelai waited a few seconds, then yelled, "Rory!"  
  
Rory hurried out of her bedroom over to Lorelai. "What? Did you tell him?"  
  
Lorelai turned around and put her hands on Rory's shoulders. "No, but we have to finish searching the rest of this house and then we have to start packing for Boston because I told him that's what we were doing and if he comes home to two empty suitcases, he'll know I was lying."  
  
"But I still need to do laundry before I can pack," Rory said.  
  
"Then go do it!" Lorelai cried. "We have to have at least one suitcase packed before he gets home tonight!"  
  
Rory sighed. "Okay, okay, calm down, geez. I'll go do my laundry, you keep looking."  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Lorelai and Rory were searching through the master bedroom as Jess knocked on the doorframe. "I'm done."  
  
Lorelai turned around and anxiously asked, "Did you find it?"  
  
Jess shook his head. "Nope, it's not in the bathroom. I tore the room apart."  
  
Lorelai sighed, then covered her face with her hands and muttered, "Jesus, where the hell could it be?"  
  
"Mom, we'll find it," Rory assured her as she searched through Lorelai's dresser drawers.  
  
"No, we won't," Lorelai replied quietly. "We've been looking all day, we've combed this entire stupid house and the yard and the inn and the car and . . ." She let out a long sigh and shrugged. "Forget it, I'll just have to tell him that I lost it."  
  
Jess shifted his feet uncomfortably in the doorway. "Uh, do you want me to check anywhere else?"  
  
Lorelai waved him off. "No, we're done. Thanks for your help."  
  
Jess nodded toward her, then walked into his bedroom.  
  
Lorelai sat down on the bed with a groan. Rory sat down next to her and put an arm around Lorelai's shoulder. "Mom, he's probably not gonna be mad."  
  
Lorelai's lower lip trembled slightly. "I know, but he'll still be disappointed and. . ." Tears formed in her eyes and she looked away from Rory. "I don't wanna disappoint him."  
  
Rory rubbed Lorelai's back. "Aww, Mom, come on. Let's go start packing. It'll get your mind off of it."  
  
Lorelai wiped her eyes and said, "You go start. I'll be right down."  
  
Rory nodded and stood up. She walked into Jess' room and retrieved her clean laundry from the dryer, then brought it downstairs to her room.  
  
Lorelai fell back onto the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. "Jerk. . .you're such a jerk," she scolded herself. "How could you not feel that it was gone!" More tears fell and she pulled a pillow over her face to hide them.  
  
She stayed that way for a minute before she heard Rory yell from downstairs, "Mom! Come down here, quick!"  
  
Lorelai climbed off the bed and hurried down the staircase. She rushed to Rory's bedroom. "What, what is it?"  
  
Rory smiled and gestured to the bed, where she had spread open one of the large suitcases. Lorelai walked slowly toward it with a questioning look. "What. . .what's. . ." Her eyes, puffy and teary, widened as she saw the necklace inside the suitcase. She gasped and grabbed for it, letting out a small laugh of surprise through her tears. "Oh my God!"  
  
Rory smiled. "Told you we would find it."  
  
Lorelai held up the necklace in front of her and gasped. "Wait, this is just the chain. . .where's the diamond?" She looked back down into the suitcase, and spotted the diamond in the corner of it. Lorelai quickly grabbed for it. "Oh my God." She exhaled loudly as she examined it. "It looks okay." She looked at the chain and noticed that the clasp was broken. "Aw, look, that's why it fell off."  
  
Rory looked at it. "Yeah, I see." She patted the suitcase. "But how did it get in here?"  
  
Lorelai thought for a moment, then said, "After Luke brought the suitcases down, I opened them up to make sure they were empty. It must've fallen off and somehow slipped inside. That's the only time it could've happened."  
  
Rory nodded. "Makes sense. I guess you didn't - " Her voice trailed off as they both heard the front door open. They glanced at each other and Rory gestured to Lorelai's eyes. Lorelai wiped them as Rory whispered, "What are you gonna tell him?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know." She clutched the necklace and diamond in her fist and walked out of the bedroom.  
  
Luke was walking toward the kitchen and he smiled when he saw her. "Hey."  
  
"Hey," Lorelai replied. He kissed her, then hugged her tightly - an opportunity she took to wipe her eyes on his shoulder to make sure no stray tears were present.  
  
As they pulled apart from each other, Lorelai asked, "How was your night?"  
  
Luke walked to the fridge and pulled out a beer. "Long. Had a couple of accidents."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Accidents? What kind of accidents?"  
  
Luke opened the beer, then walked past her out of the kitchen. Lorelai followed him to the living room and they sat down on the couch. "Ah, well, I knocked a tray of dishes to the floor and those all broke. Then later I knocked over this huge bowl of rolls so we had to throw all those out. . . and then the cash register got jammed and we couldn't get it open for twenty minutes." He sighed and took a long sip of his beer.  
  
"Geez, what's with all the clumsiness today?" Lorelai asked. She reached for the bottle and took a sip, then handed it back to him.  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know, just. . .one of those days." Lorelai nodded as she stroked his arm. He stared at her face for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "Your eyes are red. . . were you crying?"  
  
Lorelai looked down quickly and cleared her throat, stammering, "What? Oh, no, I was just. . . you know. . .I had something in my eye, that's all."  
  
Luke tilted her chin up and turned her face toward him. "What happened?"  
  
Lorelai casually pushed his hand away and shrugged. "Nothing, it was probably a piece of dust or something. Or, you know, sometimes bugs can fly around and get in your eyes and make you tear up and stuff. I'm sure that's all it was. It's fine now, no big deal." She smiled and nodded. "So. . .what do you wanna do now - watch a movie?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "No, I don't wanna watch a movie, I wanna know what happened. Your eyes don't get that red from a piece of dust or a bug."  
  
Lorelai turned her head away and stared at the fireplace. Luke watched her curiously as she brought her right hand toward him and unclenched her fist. She sighed loudly and said, "This happened."  
  
He looked down in her hand and saw the chain and diamond. "What about it?"  
  
"Look at it," she said, still not looking at him.  
  
Luke picked up the chain and eyed it closely. "Oh. . .what, it broke? You were crying because it broke?"  
  
Lorelai turned to him slowly. "No, I - "  
  
"We'll just buy a new chain, no big deal. What, did you think I was gonna yell at you or something?" he asked with a laugh. "Things break all the time."  
  
"I wasn't crying because it broke," Lorelai said loudly. "I was crying because I had lost it and spent the past four hours looking for it and couldn't find it anywhere, and I know how important it is to you and I felt like a jerk for losing it and I didn't want to disappoint you by making you think that I didn't care about it because I do! It means everything to me and I -"  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Luke interrupted. "Calm down, geez."  
  
Lorelai continued, ". . .felt so horrible and I got all upset, but then we finally found it a few minutes ago in the suitcase and the clasp was broken and that's why -"  
  
"Okay, okay," Luke interrupted again. "Take a breath."  
  
". . .it fell off in the first place," Lorelai finished. She took several deep breaths and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry."  
  
Luke let out a surprised laugh. "Why the hell are you sorry? The thing broke, it's not your fault."  
  
Lorelai sighed. "I know, but I should've - "  
  
"Lorelai," Luke said loudly.  
  
Lorelai abruptly stopped talking and turned to look at him.  
  
He shook his head and said, "It's not your fault, forget about it. I'll buy you a new chain for it."  
  
A relieved smile appeared on Lorelai's face and she leaned forward to kiss him. As she pulled back, Luke held out his hand. "Here, give me the diamond. I'm gonna go get changed, I'll take it upstairs." Lorelai handed it to him, then Luke stood up and walked toward the staircase.  
  
"You coming back down?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm gonna get something to eat," Luke replied. "Find something for us to watch."  
  
* * *  
  
The next night, Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner after Friday night dinner. There were only a handful of other customers, and the counter was empty except for Luke, who was intently reading a small booklet. They walked over to the counter, and as they sat down, they noticed a small box in front of him. Lorelai gasped, startling him from his reading. "Geez, don't sneak up on people," he grumbled.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Luke Danes, you bought a cell phone."  
  
"Uh oh, looks like you have to take down the No Cell Phones sign," Rory said as she pointed to it behind him. "You don't want to be called a hypocrite."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Please. It's not for me, it's for Jess."  
  
"Jess?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yup." Luke turned around and poured two cups of coffee, then set the mugs in front of them.  
  
"You bought Jess a cell phone?" Rory asked.  
  
Luke nodded. "Yup."  
  
"How come?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know. I just thought it would be good for him to have. . .you know, for an emergency or something."  
  
"Does he know you bought it?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yup, he saw it a few minutes ago. He's upstairs right now reorganizing the apartment," Luke said.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Rory asked. She slid off her stool and picked up her cup of coffee. "I'm gonna go see what he's doing to it." She walked around the counter and went up to the apartment.  
  
Luke put the instruction booklet back into the cell phone box, then leaned on the counter. "So, how was dinner?"  
  
Lorelai nodded as she sipped her coffee. "Good, it was good. Rory was all excited about her trip so she kept talking about it. . .which kept the conversation off of us and how we're throwing our lives away by living together."  
  
Luke smiled. "Good."  
  
"Yup, it was good," Lorelai replied. She gestured to the counter behind him. "Is that pie I see?"  
  
"Yup. You want some?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled and held up two fingers. Luke shook his head slightly but turned around and got two slices for her. As he set the plate in front of her, she grinned. "Thank you." She ate some, then moaned happily. "Mmm, that's good."  
  
As she continued eating, Luke grabbed his order pad and walked over to a table of customers. He placed their check on the table and brought their plates into the kitchen, then walked back over to Lorelai. He lowered his voice and said, "So the next five days. . .they're gonna be . . "  
  
Lorelai looked up and smiled. She spoke quietly, "All about us. We'll go out, we'll do it, we'll spend time together, we'll do it, we'll get drunk, we'll do it, we'll be wild and crazy. . .we'll do it some more."  
  
Luke smiled. "I'm seeing a recurring theme." He leaned forward so his lips were close to hers. "And I have to say, I like that recurring theme." He kissed her.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Good." She shoved a piece of pie into her mouth and chewed it slowly. "Anything wild and crazy you wanna do? I'm up for anything." She leaned forward and smiled, "And you know I'm not lying when I say. . . *anything*."  
  
"I know," Luke said with a sly smile  
  
"Any time, any place," she said in a seductive whisper.  
  
"I know."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I mean it. If we're walking along or hanging out or something, and you get the urge to just jump me for a random quickie, just go right ahead. The element of surprise is always a huge turn on," she added, nodding fervently.  
  
"I'll remember that," Luke said, tapping his forehead.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Good." She took a long sip of coffee, then said, "Seriously, anything you wanna do?" She rolled her eyes and added, "Besides the batting cages. . . I know, I know. I promised."  
  
"Yes, you did," Luke agreed.  
  
"So, anything else?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke shrugged. "Not really - we'll just play it by ear."  
  
Lorelai nodded as Rory walked back into the diner. She smiled as she sat down next to Lorelai. "He put me to work."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Lorelai asked. "What'd you do?"  
  
"Helped him move some furniture around," Rory said. She glanced at her watch and said, "I have to get home soon. Dean's coming over to help me finish packing."  
  
"Okay, I'm almost done," Lorelai said. She shoved the last piece of pie into her mouth and stood up before she finished chewing. "It's free pie night, right?"  
  
Luke took away the plate and smiled. "Whatever you say."  
  
"Thank you," Lorelai said in a singsong voice. She leaned across the counter and kissed him on the cheek. "See you at home."  
  
"Bye," he replied. "Bye Rory."  
  
"Bye Luke," Rory replied.  
  
* * *  
  
Early Saturday morning, Lorelai woke up on her side with Luke pressed up against her and his arms wrapped around her waist. As she shifted her body around to lie on her back, he groaned groggily. He slipped his arms out from under her and rolled over to lie on his back. Lorelai turned her head to look at him. "Hi."  
  
Luke yawned loudly before mumbling, "Hey."  
  
Lorelai reached down and laced her fingers through his. "I'm starting to get sad."  
  
Luke yawned again and muttered, "About?"  
  
"Uh, about the fact that I don't have Rosie's farewell episode on tape." Lorelai rolled her eyes and nudged his shoulder. "Tsk, what do you think?"  
  
Luke rubbed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Ah, right, Rory's leaving today."  
  
"Yes, she is," Lorelai said wistfully.  
  
"And you're gonna miss her," Luke said.  
  
"Yes, I am."  
  
"So why don't you go down and tell her that and let me go back to sleep?" Luke suggested. He closed his eyes and pulled the covers up over him.  
  
Lorelai frowned and snuggled up against him. "Because I don't want her to know how sad I am because I don't want her to feel bad about leaving, you know?"  
  
"Mmhmm," Luke muttered with his eyes still closed.  
  
"I mean, she should go and have a good time - she shouldn't be thinking about how her crybaby of a mother is being all sad and acting like a big loser because her only daughter went away for five long days," Lorelai said.  
  
"Mmhmm."  
  
Lorelai propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him curiously, trying to figure out if he was really listening to her. She continued, "Yeah, and I told her that we'd be having a lot of sex while she's gone and that she shouldn't call too much because she might interrupt us."  
  
Luke turned onto his side and mumbled, "Mmhmm."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and shoved him playfully. "Tsk, you're not even listening to me."  
  
"Mmhmm."  
  
Lorelai sighed and climbed out of bed. "I'm gonna take a shower. . .not that you care anyway. I could be choking to death right now and you'd be lying there going, Mmhmm, mmhmm, mmhmm."  
  
As she pulled on her robe, Luke rolled over to look at her. "Are you choking?" he asked, squinting into the bright sunlight that was shining through the window.  
  
"No."  
  
"Good, just checking." Luke rolled back over as he said, "Let me know if you start."  
  
"Wow, I'm so glad I found me a sensitive man," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. She walked out of the room and into the bathroom.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, while Luke and Jess were at the apartment unloading Jess' boxes, Rory and Lorelai were at home waiting for Christopher to arrive. Rory lined her luggage up neatly by the front door, then walked to the bottom of the staircase. "Mom, he's gonna be here any minute!" Rory called.  
  
"I know, I'm almost done!" Lorelai called back.  
  
Rory walked over to the couch and fell onto it with a sigh. She picked up a magazine and leafed through it pointlessly just to pass the time. A few minutes later, Lorelai barreled down the steps. "Okay, it's done!"  
  
Rory threw the magazine onto the coffee table and smiled up at Lorelai. "What is it?"  
  
Lorelai walked over and handed her a small book. Rory opened it up and discovered that it was a photo album. She flipped through the pages, which Lorelai had filled with pictures of her and Rory. "Aw, Mom, this is so cute," Rory said sincerely.  
  
"That's so you don't forget me. . .your mother. . .the woman who birthed you," Lorelai told her.  
  
Rory laughed. "Okay, I don't think five days is long enough to forget someone you've been around for sixteen years, but way to be prepared."  
  
"Thank you," Lorelai replied. "And it'll also remind you of all the fun times we've had together and it'll make you keep those fresh in your memory so that you don't replace them with new memories of you hanging out with Sherry, the woman who tries desperately to replace me as your primary female role model."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes and they both continued looking through the photos, each of which seemed to have a funny or memorable story to accompany it. Ten minutes later, after having spent a good three minutes making fun of Lorelai's hair in one of the oldest photos, they were both laughing on the couch as Luke walked through the front door.  
  
Luke smiled as he walked over and stood behind the couch. "What's so funny?"  
  
Rory wiped the tears that had formed in her eyes from laughing so hard and showed him the picture. "We were just saying how Mom looks like an extra from Welcome Back, Kotter in this picture."  
  
Luke laughed and nodded in agreement. "Definitely."  
  
Lorelai smiled as she took the album back from him. "That, or a member of Bananarama."  
  
Luke smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. "I'm glad to see you grew out of that phase."  
  
"Yeah, well, I received several disturbing letters from people asking me to please take care of it or else a protest would be started," Lorelai said with a shrug.  
  
Luke smiled and walked into the kitchen. The girls continued talking about the pictures for a few more minutes before a horn honked out front. Rory jumped up off the couch. "That's Dad!" She clutched the photo album as she ran toward the front door.  
  
Lorelai followed her out onto the porch. Rory had already run over to hug Christopher, and Lorelai slowly walked over to them. "Hey."  
  
"Hey Lor," Christopher said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.  
  
Lorelai glanced inside the Volvo. "Sherry didn't come?"  
  
"Uh, no," Christopher said. "I kind of persuaded her not to. Last time she talked Rory's ear off all the way to Boston, so I told her that this time I'd like some father-daughter alone time." He gave a sly smile toward Rory. "I saved you this time, kiddo."  
  
Rory gave an embarrassed shrug. "I didn't mind, she was just trying to get to know me."  
  
"Yeah, I know, which is nice - but since she was trying to learn your whole life story in a two hour car ride, I thought it might be a little easier for you this time if it was just the two of us," Christopher said.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "So. . .that Sherry's a little over-talkative, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, aren't people like that so annoying?" Christopher asked, giving a pointed look toward Lorelai.  
  
Lorelai gasped and placed a hand on the center of her chest. "I hope you're not hinting at what I think you're hinting at!"  
  
Christopher smirked, then turned to Rory. "Ready to go, hon?"  
  
Rory started walking toward the house. "Yup, my stuff's right inside the door."  
  
As they walked inside, Lorelai called, "Luke, Rory's leaving!" Christopher picked up one of the suitcases and started rolling it out the front door. Rory put her backpack on her back, and Luke walked into the front entryway as she was starting to grab the second large suitcase.  
  
"No, I got it," Luke said, taking hold of the handle. "You hug your mother and try to keep her from crying."  
  
Rory smiled and stepped back. "Thanks, Luke. And I'll try."  
  
Luke pulled the suitcase past them out the front door. Rory and Lorelai stared at each other for a second, neither of them wanting to say goodbye. Rory saw Lorelai's lower lip start to quiver, and she quickly leaned forward and hugged her. "Don't cry, Luke'll be mad at me."  
  
Lorelai let out a laugh as she wrapped her arms tightly around Rory. She kissed Rory's head and said, "Ahh, I'm gonna miss you, kid."  
  
"Me too," Rory replied as she rubbed Lorelai's back comfortingly. "Don't worry, I'll call every night."  
  
Lorelai nodded and warned, "You better, or next time I'll get one of those electronic tracking devices so I can follow your every move on a monitor that I'll carry around with me at all times."  
  
Rory pulled back from Lorelai and smiled. "And the sad thing is, I have no doubts that you'd do something like that."  
  
Lorelai smiled and linked her arm through Rory's, whose other arm was clutching the photo album against her chest. They walked out the front door and over to Luke and Christopher, who were talking near the car. Both doors on the driver's side were open, and Rory set her backpack and photo album into the backseat and shut the door.  
  
"Got everything?" Christopher asked.  
  
"Yup, I'm all set," Rory replied.  
  
Christopher smiled toward Luke and Lorelai. "Okay, we'll see you guys on Wednesday - I promise I'll take good care of her." He climbed into the driver's seat and started the car. Loud music blared from the radio, which became muted when he shut his door.  
  
Rory walked over to Luke and hugged him. "Bye Luke." She kissed his cheek as she pulled back from him.  
  
Luke smiled. "Have a good time."  
  
Rory turned to Lorelai. They hugged tightly and kissed each other on the cheek. As Rory pulled back, she said, "Bye Mom. Love you."  
  
"Love you too, Sweets," Lorelai replied. "Be good."  
  
"I'll try," Rory replied.  
  
"And don't do drugs," Lorelai warned, wagging her finger in Rory's face.  
  
Rory laughed. "Where did that come from?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Felt like a motherly thing to say."  
  
Rory smiled and rolled her eyes, then gave Lorelai one last hug. "Okay, bye."  
  
"Bye," Lorelai replied. She watched as Rory walked around to the passenger side and got into the car. As Rory fastened her seatbelt, Lorelai and Luke both took a few steps backwards and waited for the car to pull away. As it did, both Rory and Chris waved, and Lorelai and Luke returned the gesture. When the car was out of sight, they walked across the yard and went inside through the back door.  
  
As they stepped into the kitchen and closed the door behind them, Lorelai turned around and smiled at him. "And then there were two." She leaned forward and kissed him deeply, pressing him up against the door as she ran her hands over his chest and arms.  
  
Luke smiled through the kiss. "It's amazing how quickly you can go from the sad and lonely mother to the wild and sex-obsessed girlfriend. That's quite a gift you've got there."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You like that, huh?" She pressed her lips back against his and kissed him again. As their mouths opened, she used the tip of her tongue to massage the top of his. He reciprocated the motions, and their tongues fell into a gentle rhythm of swirling that made several short moans escape Lorelai's throat.  
  
When they finally pulled apart from each other, Lorelai turned around and pressed her back against him. Luke slipped his hands under her shirt and ran them over her stomach. He began to kiss the back of her neck, and Lorelai tilted her head to the side to give him better access. She closed her eyes as his hands moved up to her breasts. Lorelai swallowed hard and whispered, "Luke. . .right here." She reached behind her and tugged at the waistband of his jeans. "Right now - just take me."  
  
Luke lifted his lips from her neck. "Right here. . .in the kitchen?"  
  
Lorelai craned her neck to look back at him. "Yes!" she urged.  
  
Luke considered it for a moment. He stared into her pleading eyes that were eagerly awaiting his next movement. Finally, he removed his hands from her shirt and said, "No, not like this."  
  
Lorelai turned her body around and frowned. "What?"  
  
"Not like *this* right now," Luke said as he walked past her. "You're expecting it. You said yourself that being surprised is always a turn on."  
  
Lorelai started to follow him. "I know, but - "  
  
Luke quickly turned around and she almost walked into him. "So. . . I think that a scenario like this. . .well, it'll be good for . . .a surprise one," Luke told her. He grabbed a grape from the fruit bowl and popped it into his mouth. He chewed it, then smiled and said, "Wait to be surprised."  
  
Lorelai frowned at him. "You're evil!"  
  
Luke smirked. "I didn't say I didn't want to do it right now, I just said not like this."  
  
Lorelai perked up and she grinned. She rushed past him, calling over her shoulder, "Beat you upstairs!"  
  
Luke smiled to himself as he turned and followed her toward the staircase.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 38  
  
* * *  
  
As Luke rolled off of Lorelai and climbed off the bed, Lorelai propped herself up on her elbows and watched him. He glanced around the floor for his boxers, which he finally found near the foot of the bed. He pulled them on as Lorelai reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a small box. She pounded the box on her palm a few times, a noise that made Luke turn around.  
  
He rolled his eyes when he saw what she was doing. "You know, you only have to do that with a real box of cigarettes."  
  
Lorelai smiled and opened the box, then pulled out a candy cigarette and took a bite. "I know, but it's fun."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Whatever. Okay, now, where's my shirt?" He glanced around the room for it, and finally found it on top of his dresser. As he pulled it on, he said, "You know, getting dressed would be a lot easier if you didn't throw my clothes across the room."  
  
Lorelai smiled and leaned back against the headboard. "Yeah, but then I wouldn't get to watch you walk around naked looking for them."  
  
"Oh, so it's purely for your own enjoyment," Luke stated knowingly.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Great, thanks." Luke pulled on his jeans, then stood at the foot of the bed. "So, what do you wanna do now?"  
  
Lorelai leaned forward and shrugged. "I don't know - what do you wanna do?"  
  
Luke walked over to her dresser and picked up her broken necklace. "We can go pick out a new chain," he suggested.  
  
"Ooh, good idea. Can we go into Hartford?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"For what?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai stood up and walked over to him. "Well, there's this really cool party store near the college and I wanna pick up some stuff for Sookie's shower, and we can go to the jewelry store that's right on that street."  
  
Luke replaced the necklace on the dresser and shrugged. "Okay, get dressed."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay." She started gathering her clothes as Luke walked over and sat on the bed. As she dressed, she said, "You know what else they have on that street?"  
  
Watching her intently, Luke leaned back on his hands. "What?"  
  
Lorelai grinned. "A liquor store. . .and one of those adult video rental places."  
  
Luke groaned. "What are you thinking?"  
  
"Well. . . " Lorelai pulled her shorts up and walked over to him. She pushed him flat on his back, then lay on top of him. She kissed from his lips over his cheeks down to his neck. Finally, she stared him in the eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm thinking that we can maybe pick up some liquor." She kissed him, then added, "And then, maybe pick up some dirty movies . . ."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't think so."  
  
Lorelai ignored him and continued, "And then later tonight we can get drunk, watch the movies, and have some fun imitating them. What do you think?"  
  
"I don't watch movies like that," Luke said nonchalantly.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and pushed herself up so she was sitting on his stomach. "Yeah, right - I bet. Luke, you don't have to hide things like that anymore - we live together now. Come on, fess up."  
  
Luke gave an embarrassed smirk. "Well. . .I haven't watched any since Jess has lived with me."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "I knew it! What did you do, rent them?"  
  
Luke scoffed. "God, no! I just watched the stuff that came on late night cable."  
  
"Like what, Cinemax?"  
  
Luke shrugged.  
  
Lorelai smirked. "Look at you being all shy about it. Have you ever watched a dirty movie with someone. . .I mean, someone you're sleeping with?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "Nope."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "It's fun." She leaned forward and kissed him. "You're sitting there watching it and getting all turned on and you're like, 'Man, I'm so hot right now', and then you turn your head and it's like, 'Hello!. . . there's someone right here for me to do it with!'" Lorelai nodded enthusiastically. "It'll be fun, I promise you - especially with the added effect of the hard liquor we'll be consuming."  
  
Luke smiled and shook his head slightly. "You know, before we got together, I used to have morals and ethics and some code of decency I wanted to maintain. . .and now - "  
  
"It's all out the window," Lorelai finished.  
  
"Yes, it is," he agreed. He stared up at her smiling face and laughed. "You're the craziest person I've ever met."  
  
Lorelai's grin widened. "I know! But you love that about me. Come on, admit it."  
  
Luke's lips formed into a small smile. "Yeah, I do."  
  
Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him passionately. As she pulled back, she poked him in the chest and said, "That's why I've made it my duty to get you to step out of that restrictive shell of dignity and self-respect and get you to partake in wild activities that would make Jerry Springer gasp with shock."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I have to say you've already accomplished that. You've gotten me to do things I never would've even thought about doing."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Like singing Tainted Love into a scrub brush as loud as you can while I lathered up your body with strawberry scented body wash?"  
  
Luke groaned. "That's one of the tamer stupid things you've talked me into."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Hey, I've lightened you up a little. It's not so bad doing crazy things sometimes, is it?"  
  
"Nah, I guess it's not so bad."  
  
"Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want you to become 'all wild, all the time' like me," Lorelai explained. "I'm just trying to get you to have a little fun, but I still want you to maintain some of the sweet, thoughtful, reserved Luke-ness that I fell in love with. You still have to keep me grounded so I don't get arrested or sent off to an asylum."  
  
"I'll try," he told her.  
  
"Good." Lorelai smiled and nodded. "And just so you know, my next goal is to somehow get us on Taxicab Confessions - to do this we need to hang out in some big name cities late at night and have sex in as many cabs as we can."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and pushed her off of him. She landed on the bed next to him with a laugh and he rolled over to lie on top of her. She smiled up at him. "Okay, we'll scratch that plan." He nodded and pressed his lips against hers. She brought her arms up around his neck and moaned softly as their tongues met.  
  
When he finally pulled back from her, he said, "Come on, let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
Almost an hour later, they parked the Jeep on a side street in the middle of Hartford and began walking down the sidewalk toward a strip of stores and restaurants.  
  
They walked into the party supply store first, and Luke's eyes widened at the large display of paper plates that was set up near the entrance. He scoffed loudly and gestured to them. "Okay, do people really need paper plates in every color known to man? There are like ten different shades of every color."  
  
Lorelai smiled and grabbed his hand. "Yes, some people are very particular about the color plate their food touches. Unlike me, of course, who has been known to eat things off the floor if the craving's strong enough."  
  
Luke groaned. "Ugh, don't say that - it'll put a whole new image in my head when we kiss."  
  
Lorelai smiled and pulled him away from the display. "Come on." She grabbed a basket and led him through several aisles until they reached the wedding section. She studied the display for several minutes, tapping her finger on her lips as she muttered, "Hm, hm, hm, what to buy. . ." She began tossing invitations, streamers, decorations, banners, and other supplies into her basket.  
  
"Sheesh, okay, you don't have to buy out the store," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai glanced down at the basket. "Yeah, but it's not a successful shopping trip until I fill up the basket completely, and there's still some room in there."  
  
Luke reached into the basket and rearranged the items so that nothing else could fit. "Look, now there's not. Let's go."  
  
Lorelai frowned at him. "If we don't get it now, we're just gonna have to come back here and get it another day."  
  
"Tsk." Luke rolled his eyes and gestured to the display, encouraging her to keep shopping. Lorelai smiled at him before she picked up a few more items and shoved them into the basket. A few minutes later, they took the items up to the counter and paid for them.  
  
They stepped outside and Lorelai led him down the street to the jewelry store. As they stepped inside, a man in a business suit immediately walked up to them. "Hi, can I help you with something?"  
  
"Oh, yeah, thank you," Lorelai replied. She handed the party store bag to Luke, then pulled the diamond solitaire out of her purse. "We're looking for a silver chain to put this on."  
  
The man eyed it and nodded approvingly. "Oh, very nice. Right this way." He led them to a glass counter of silver jewelry. He opened the glass case and removed several felt boxes of silver chains, then pointed past them and said, "I'll be right over there if you need anything else."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." As he walked away, Lorelai pulled Luke closer to the counter. "Ooh, look at them all, so many to choose from. See any you like?"  
  
"They all look exactly the same," Luke commented. They stared at the chains for a few minutes, holding them up and seeing how they looked with the diamond. They finally decided on one, and Luke took it over to the man.  
  
As he paid for it, Lorelai wandered over to a case of rings and stared at them. A few minutes later, Luke walked over to her and handed her the jewelry box. "Here you go."  
  
Lorelai smiled and stuck it in her purse. "Thanks."  
  
Luke glanced down at the case of rings. "What are you looking at?"  
  
Lorelai pointed to a diamond ring in the front row. "Oh, that ring - it's really pretty."  
  
Luke followed her gaze and nodded. "Yeah, it's nice." He glanced at the other rings surrounding it and was quiet for a few seconds before he said, "Aren't those. . .engagement rings. . ." His face tightened and he swallowed hard as he looked at her. "Lorelai, I don't . . .we shouldn't. . .I'm not really. . I mean, we just started living together. . ."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "No no no! I'm not talking about that, I'm just saying. . .it's nice, that's all - that it's pretty." She let out a small laugh and put her hand on his arm. "Calm down, take a breath."  
  
Luke's face relaxed slightly and he nodded slowly, then he turned around and walked toward the exit. Lorelai followed behind him, and as they stepped onto the sidewalk, she grabbed his arm. "But just out of curiosity, have you thought about it. . .even a little?" Luke shrugged, then nodded. Lorelai smiled. "You have?"  
  
"Yeah," he replied.  
  
"Even though you said you don't believe in the "idea of marriage"?" Lorelai asked, using her fingers to make quotation marks.  
  
"Yeah, well, that was before we. . .before you and I. . ." Luke started, but his voice trailed off and he sighed softly. "I don't know - I mean, yes, I've thought about it a little bit. . .about what it would be like down the line. . . but not now, not soon. . .I mean, we *just* started living together - we should give that time before we - "  
  
Lorelai put her finger on his lips. "Luke, it's okay - I feel the same way."  
  
Luke gave her a surprised look. "You do?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I mean, what's the rush, right? We're already living together - let's just give that some time first."  
  
Luke let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding. He kissed her, then pulled back and smiled. "Okay, good, now that that's all settled. . .what now?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "You hungry? There are a bunch of cute little cafés and stuff around here."  
  
"Yeah, I could eat," Luke replied. "You?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Please - this stomach's ready to eat twenty-four hours a day."  
  
Luke smiled. "Okay, let's get some lunch. Let's go put this stuff in the car first," he said, gesturing to the bag from the party store.  
  
They walked back to the Jeep and put the bag in the trunk, then Luke waited while Lorelai put the diamond on the new chain and fastened it around her neck. She used the car window as a mirror and fixed her hair, then turned to him and said, "Okay, ready?" Luke nodded and they walked back down the street.  
  
* * *  
  
A short while later, they walked out of a small sandwich shop. Lorelai was carrying a takeout cup of coffee. She grabbed his hand and led him down the sidewalk to a bench a few stores away. As they both sat down, Luke noticed that they were right in front of the liquor store, and that the video store was right next to it.  
  
Lorelai took a sip of coffee, then smiled. "So, what do you wanna be in charge of - the liquor or the videos?"  
  
"There is no way in hell you're getting me to go into that video store," Luke said, shaking his head. "Don't even think about it."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay, answered my question. You get the liquor."  
  
"You're gonna go in there?" he asked, pointing to the video store.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Sure, why not?"  
  
"Uh, because people might see you."  
  
Lorelai made a face. "So what? I've been there before. One time I walked out of there and I was walking back to my car and I ran into my mom."  
  
Luke laughed. "No way."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yup. Luckily, she didn't actually see what store I'd come out of, and the video store bag is plain so she didn't know what it was."  
  
"I can just imagine the look on her face if she'd found out," Luke said with a laugh.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Oh man, that'd be a total Kodak moment." She finished her coffee and stood up to toss it in a nearby trash can. "Okay, you go get the liquor, I'll go get the videos, and we'll meet back here. You know what kind of liquor I like?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "You like everything."  
  
Lorelai smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Good boy. Run along now."  
  
Luke walked into the liquor store as Lorelai walked into the video store.  
  
* * *  
  
Almost forty minutes later, Lorelai walked out of the video store with a bag and found Luke waiting on the bench. He stood up as she walked over. "What the hell took so long? I've been waiting out here for twenty minutes!" he said in an agitated tone.  
  
"Sorry, but I . . .where's the liquor?" Lorelai asked, not noticing any bags near him.  
  
"It's in the car already," Luke replied. "You were taking so long that I thought you might have went there instead, so I walked over to check for you and while I was there I put the stuff away. Now, what took so long?"  
  
Lorelai took his hand and led him toward the car. "I'll tell you when we get home."  
  
"Why can't you just tell me now?" Luke asked, annoyed.  
  
"Because. . .when I tell you, I need to show you something and I wanna show you at home, okay?"  
  
"You have to make everything difficult, don't you?" he muttered.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it must be really difficult for you to have to wait thirty minutes to find something out. I'm so sorry - wait, let's stop at a card store on the way home. I'm sure Hallmark makes a sympathy card for people who have to wait since it's obviously a big problem in the world."  
  
Luke exhaled loudly. "Are you done?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
They arrived home and carried their bags into the house. Luke put the bag from the liquor store in the kitchen as Lorelai put the videos by the television. Luke walked back into the living room and said, "Okay, tell me."  
  
Lorelai smiled and gestured for him to come closer. "Come here." As Luke walked over to her, she turned around so that she was facing away from him. She pulled her shirt up over her head and dropped it on the couch.  
  
"What are you doing?" Luke asked.  
  
"Look down," she instructed, looking at him over her shoulder.  
  
Luke's gaze traveled down her body until they reached the small of her back. His eyes widened. "Oh my God - you didn't."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You like it?"  
  
Luke reached out and ran a finger over the small heart tattoo. She flinched slightly and he pulled his hand away. "Lorelai, you didn't. . ."  
  
"I was gonna get a little coffee cup tattoo, but then I was thinking, you're the one who'll be seeing it, not me, and you don't like coffee, so I went with something more general," Lorelai explained.  
  
Luke stared down at it in disbelief. "Is this real?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, but it looks it, doesn't it?"  
  
Luke nodded. "They did this at the video store?"  
  
"Yeah, there's this little section in the back of the store," Lorelai said. "And I walked by it, and then I was like, 'what the hell? Just do it.' They said it'll last a few weeks. They also do piercings - maybe I'll check those out next time."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Please don't."  
  
Lorelai smiled and turned around. "What, you don't like it? You don't think it's sexy?"  
  
Luke shrugged, but a small smile appeared on his lips. "Maybe."  
  
Lorelai grinned. "See, I knew you'd like it." She kissed him.  
  
Luke pulled back and asked, "Does it hurt?"  
  
"It's just a tiny bit sore, but they said that'll go away really soon," Lorelai said, waving it off.  
  
Luke nodded, then he asked, "Are you sure the place was. . .clean?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "It was fine."  
  
Luke turned her around and looked at it one more time. "It's actually. . .kind of nice."  
  
Lorelai picked up her shirt from the couch and pulled it on. She turned around and smiled. "Go to work."  
  
Luke glanced at his watch. "Oh, right, I almost forgot. What are you gonna do?"  
  
"Work on Sookie's invitations," Lorelai replied. "Bring me something for dinner."  
  
Luke nodded. "Okay, I'll see you tonight." He kissed her goodbye, then walked out the front door.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Lorelai was sitting on the front porch drinking a margarita when Luke pulled up. He walked over to her carrying a bag from the diner, and he smiled and pointed to her glass. "Got started without me, huh?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and took a sip. "It's only my first one." She stood up and kissed him, then led him into the house. "What did you bring for dinner?"  
  
They walked into the kitchen and he set the bag on the table. "Burgers and fries for you, turkey sandwich for me."  
  
Lorelai opened up the fridge. "Beer? Or do you wanna jump right into the hard liquor?"  
  
"Beer's fine for now," Luke replied. He took the containers out and set them on the table, then crumbled up the empty bag and tossed it into the trash can. Lorelai handed him a beer and sat down. He sat across from her and they started eating. After a few minutes, Lorelai asked, "Did you check on Jess?"  
  
Luke, in mid-bite of his sandwich, nodded. He chewed for a few seconds, then swallowed and said, "Yup, right before I came home. He went out and bought some food and he unpacked a little bit. He was watching television when I left."  
  
"And. . .you think things are gonna be. . ."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, I think he'll be all right."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Good, good."  
  
"Did you get the invitations done?"  
  
"Yup, they're all ready to be mailed on Monday," she replied. "And I talked to Rory, she got there okay."  
  
Luke smiled. "Good."  
  
Lorelai took a sip of her drink, then smiled and said, "Okay, so I was thinking. . .there are six videos, so let's watch one of the videos with no contact. . .it'll be like an aphrodisiac video to get us all hot."  
  
Luke groaned. "You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?"  
  
Lorelai laughed softly. "Uh huh. So the first video, we'll just watch it and get us in the mood and stuff, and then the second video we'll start fooling around. Deal?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "You're the expert."  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, they were both sitting on the couch and were halfway through the first movie. All of the lights were turned off, all of the doors were locked, and all of the window shades were pulled down. Bottles of liquor crowded the coffee table, and they both stared at the screen intently. Lorelai reached down and grabbed the bottle of vodka. She took a quick sip, then held it out to Luke. "More?"  
  
Luke shook his head, still staring at the screen. Lorelai took another sip, then placed the bottle back on the table. She leaned back against the couch and watched the screen. As a couple started going at it in a hot tub, she swallowed hard and glanced over at Luke. Luke could hear her breathing getting heavier and he turned to look at her. As they stared into each other's eyes, they each realized how aroused they both were. Luke put his hand on Lorelai's knee and her body raced with excitement. She turned back to the screen and watched for a few seconds as his hand slowly moved up her thigh.  
  
Lorelai turned to him. "Ready for the second movie?" Luke quickly nodded, and Lorelai jumped up off the couch. She ejected the first video and inserted the second, then walked back over to him. "Time for a clothing change." She pulled off her shirt and shorts, and sat down next to him in just her bra and underwear.  
  
Luke stood up and took off his jeans and T-shirt, then sat back down in just his boxers. They sat close together on the center cushion, and Lorelai picked up her margarita and began gulping it down. Luke pulled the cup away from her. "Okay, okay! I don't need you throwing up on me." She frowned at him as he set the cup on the table and leaned back against the couch.  
  
The movie started, and soon a couple was ferociously going at it on a pool table. As moans poured out of the television's speakers, Lorelai and Luke turned to each other, their mutual desire apparent to both of them. Their mouths crashed together in a passionate kiss, their tongues dueling aggressively. Luke's hands went to her waist and he pulled her onto his lap. She kneeled on the cushion, straddling his thighs, and kissed him long and deep. Luke's fingers fumbled with the clasp of her bra, but he finally pulled it off and threw it over his shoulder behind the couch. . . .  
  
* * *  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Lorelai collapsed on top of him, gasping to catch her breath. A moment later, she lifted her head to look at him and leaned her forehead against his. She smiled down at him. "Hi."  
  
Luke smiled. "Hey."  
  
Lorelai glanced over at the television, which was still playing the second movie. She brought her gaze back to Luke and grinned. "This is only the second movie - there are still four more to go."  
  
Luke glanced over at the television. "Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yup." Lorelai climbed off of him so he could sit up, then she sat down next to him. She grabbed the bottle of gin and took a sip, then handed it to him. He took a sip, then held it in his hand as they watched the movie.  
  
* * *  
  
Several hours later, Lorelai was dragging Luke up the steps to their bedroom. "Lorelai, I don't want to do this," he said.  
  
"Yes, you do," she replied, almost stumbling into the nightstand. She steadied herself, then giggled. "Whoa, when did we put that there?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "You're drunk."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "I am not!"  
  
Luke made a face at her breath that reeked of alcohol. He sat her down on the bed and said, "Here, just go to sleep."  
  
"No," she said, standing back up. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a silk scarf. She handed it to him, then held out her wrists and said, "Tie 'em together."  
  
Luke dropped the scarf on the bed. "I don't want to."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Come on, just for a little while?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "No."  
  
Lorelai pointed out the doorway. "Go downstairs and get drunker, then maybe you'll feel like doing it."  
  
"No, I'm done drinking - some of us know how to limit our alcohol. . .and forget it, I'm not changing my mind," Luke said sternly.  
  
Lorelai pouted and folded her arms across her chest. "Fine, forget it, no tying up. Let's go watch some more of the movies."  
  
"We watched all of them twice," he reminded her.  
  
Lorelai yawned as she walked slowly toward the doorway. "Oh yeah. . . well, let's just go watch some TV then." She started to veer sideways, then straightened herself out. "Whoa, did the room just move?"  
  
Luke rushed toward the staircase, cutting in front of her. "Whoa, let me go first in case you fall."  
  
"Ooh, piggyback ride," Lorelai said. She pushed him down a step, then climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He carried her down the steps and brought her over to the couch. She fell onto it with a giggle. "That was fun." She put her feet up on the coffee table, knocking over an empty glass. "Oops."  
  
"I got it, it's okay." Luke picked it up and set it back on the table, then pushed it and some other glass bottles away from her. He walked over to an armchair and grabbed a couple of blankets, then sat down next to her and covered them both up. Lorelai snuggled up against him and he wrapped his arm around her. He picked up the remote and started to flip through the channels. "What do you wanna watch?" When she didn't respond, he glanced down and saw that her eyes were already closed.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai opened her eyes and glanced around the room, trying to remember how she ended up asleep on the couch. She slowly sat up straight and immediately felt a pounding in her head that she'd experienced way too many times before. She glanced at Luke, who was still asleep with his head resting on the arm of the couch. She glanced at the alcohol bottles on the coffee table and the stack of videos near the VCR, and the night's events came back to her. Barely able to keep her eyes open, she lay back down on the couch and tried to go back to sleep.  
  
A few minutes later, Luke's eyes opened and he groggily sat up. Lorelai felt him moving, and she opened her eyes. He leaned toward her and said softly, "Hey, you okay?"  
  
"I feel sick," she moaned.  
  
"I knew you would," Luke replied, shaking his head slightly. "I'll go make some coffee."  
  
Lorelai watched him take his blanket off and get up from the couch. She narrowed her eyes at his boxer shorts. "How come you have clothes on and I don't?" She gasped and said, "Were you taking advantage of me in my sleep?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "No, I pulled them on before I went to sleep, whereas you were too out of it to even realize that you didn't have clothes on."  
  
Lorelai groaned. "Well, aren't some of us goody two shoes?" she muttered. She waved him toward the kitchen. "Coffee. Soon. Hurry."  
  
Luke walked into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. While it was brewing, he brought her a cup of water and some aspirin. He set it on the coffee table. "Here, when you finally do get the strength to sit up, take these."  
  
She opened her eyes to see what he was talking about. "Thank you," she mumbled. He walked back into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a mug of coffee. Lorelai was now sitting up, and Luke saw that the aspirins were gone. He handed her the cup of coffee, then sat down next to her. She took a long sip, then moaned happily. "Mm, you take such good care of me."  
  
"Yeah, well, I have to make sure you're feeling better so you won't be able to get out of going to the batting cages later," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You know, whenever I think you're being sweet, you go and ruin it."  
  
Luke smiled. "Sorry. So, what else are we doing today?"  
  
"Market," Lorelai replied. "We still need more stuff for our 9 ½ Weeks scene." She pointed at him and quickly added, "Don't try to back out of it - I may have been half-drunk, but I firmly remember you finally agreeing to it last night."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. Okay, the market. . . what else?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. We'll think of something to do. And if we can't, we can always pop in those videos again."  
  
"It's good to always have a backup plan."  
  
"Yes, it is," Lorelai agreed. She took a sip of coffee, then smiled at him. "So, the first day of the 'Luke and Lorelai have the house to themselves' extravaganza. . .how'd it rate on the fun scale?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I'd say pretty damn high."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I agree." She leaned forward and kissed him. "And we've still got three and a half days to go."  
  
* * * 


	8. Parts 39 to 43

"It's Right There - Parts 39 - 43"  
  
* * *  
  
PART 39  
  
* * *  
  
Luke stood up from the couch. "Do you want something to eat?"  
  
Lorelai groaned and waved him off. "Ugh, I can't even think about food right now." She paused, then added, "Check back in ten minutes."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure you'll be feeling much better by then." He turned and walked into the kitchen.  
  
Lorelai set her cup on the coffee table and lay back down on the couch, pulling the blanket tightly around her. She closed her eyes and buried her face into the soft cushion.  
  
* * *  
  
When she finally opened her eyes, the pounding in her head had calmed down considerably. She sat up slowly and blinked a few times, then rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. She stood up from the couch and wrapped the blanket around her body like a towel.  
  
She walked into the kitchen looking for Luke. Seeing that he wasn't in there, she walked to the bottom of the steps. "Luke!" she called.  
  
"What?" Luke's voice called back.  
  
Lorelai gathered the bottom of the blanket that was dragging on the floor, then climbed up the steps to her bedroom, which was empty. She narrowed her eyes and called, "Where are you?"  
  
"Laundry room," he replied. Lorelai walked to the doorway of the laundry room. Luke was transferring a load of clothes from the washer to the dryer. He turned and smiled at her. "Hey. . . feeling better?"  
  
Lorelai leaned against the doorframe and nodded. "Mmhmm."  
  
"Good," he replied.  
  
"How long was I asleep?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke shrugged as he continued changing the laundry. "Not long, like an hour or so." He slammed the dryer door and pressed a button, then walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. He kissed her on the cheek, then glanced down at the blanket wrapped around her. "Nice outfit."  
  
Lorelai smiled and glanced down at it. "Thanks. I'm going for that sort of toga-look."  
  
"Yeah, it makes me wanna watch Animal House," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai smiled and leaned her head against his chest. She kept her arms at her sides as he hugged her. "When did you wanna go to the batting cages?" She lifted her head and rolled her eyes at him. "Speaking of which, are you gonna wanna do that every time we have some alone time together?"  
  
"Probably," Luke replied. Lorelai groaned and leaned her head back against him. Luke sighed. "What's the problem? You said you had fun last time."  
  
"I know, but - "  
  
"Plus you'll probably like the cages around here better since they have a snack stand right near the entrance."  
  
Lorelai lifted her head up and gasped. "Really?" she asked excitedly. "With ice cream?"  
  
Luke, slightly amused at her excitement, smiled and nodded. "Yes, with ice cream - is that more of an incentive to go?"  
  
Lorelai grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "I'm gonna go take a shower." She pulled off the blanket and handed it to him. "Here, you might wanna wash this. It sort of has that 'I've been used for several hours by a drunk woman' scent to it." He took it from her and walked it over to the washing machine as she turned around and headed into the bathroom.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, they had finished batting and were sitting on a bench near the entrance to the batting cages, both of them exhausted and hot from the activity. Lorelai was happily licking her ice cream cone as Luke dug into a dish of fat free sorbet.  
  
Lorelai eyed his dessert curiously as he ate a spoonful. He glanced up at her and narrowed his eyes. "What?"  
  
Lorelai pulled the cone away from her mouth and stared down at the bowl. "What does it taste like?"  
  
Luke held out the bowl toward her. "You wanna try some?"  
  
Lorelai opened her mouth wide, and Luke fed her a spoonful of his dessert. She was hesitant at first, but when she closed her lips around the spoon, her eyes widened with surprise. "Mmm."  
  
Luke slowly pulled the spoon out of her mouth. "So?"  
  
Lorelai swallowed and nodded approvingly. "Not bad." She licked her cone and added, "I'd never voluntarily order it if there was ice cream available within a fifty mile radius, but now I know what it tastes like." Luke smirked and shook his head slightly as he continued eating.  
  
Lorelai glanced over at him and smiled to herself. She watched him for a few seconds, then said, "I had fun again."  
  
Luke turned to her and smiled. "Oh yeah?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I think I might start coming here more often." She held out one of her arms and flexed her muscle. "Good for my 'ceps."  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Yes, it is," he agreed. "But I think your, uh, 'ceps are fine."  
  
Lorelai looked at her arm and wrinkled her nose. "You think? I was thinking maybe I should try to get them a little more buff."  
  
"They're fine, trust me," Luke told her.  
  
"But those women in those videos last night, they had some good, sexy arms," Lorelai said. "Did you notice?"  
  
"They were okay." Luke shrugged and ate a spoonful of his sorbet, then added, "Yours are better."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nudged him with her elbow. "Aw, look at you being all sweet with the complimenting."  
  
Luke gave an embarrassed smirk. "Yeah. . .well. . . it's true," he said, staring down into his bowl. "You're prettier than them, too."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Wow, two compliments in a row! Now I know you're just trying to get lucky."  
  
Luke laughed and turned to look at her. "I don't have to try very. . . " His voice trailed off as he saw her smiling face staring back at him. He cleared his throat and finished, ". . .hard."  
  
Lorelai took a bite of her cone. As she chewed it, she glanced over at Luke and saw him watching her. "What? Something on my face?" she asked, wiping her chin with the back of her hand.  
  
Luke shook his head. She shrugged and brought her gaze back to her food. As she concentrated on licking the drips of ice cream that were running down the side of the cone, Luke continued to stare at her. After a few seconds, she glanced back over at him and let out a small laugh. "What are you looking at? Do you want some ice cream?" she asked, offering him her cone.  
  
Luke shook his head. "I'm just. . .looking at you."  
  
"For any particular reason?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Just. . .I don't know. . . because you're cute."  
  
Lorelai smiled and snapped her fingers several times. "Man, you're just shooting out the compliments left and right today, hon." She pointed to his bowl. "Is there something in that sorbet that has reconfigured the chemical structure of your body to turn you into a complimenting machine or something?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and set the bowl on the ground next to the bench. "I highly doubt it." He moved closer to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. He cleared his throat as if he was getting ready to say something, so she stared at him expectantly. A few seconds passed before he finally turned to her and said, "I was just. . .ya know, looking at you and thinking. . . I mean, you know that I love you, right?" he asked in a soft voice.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yup, I am very well aware of that, thank you."  
  
Luke nodded. "Okay."  
  
Lorelai tapped on her head. "It's etched into my brain."  
  
"Good."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "I'll never forget it."  
  
"Great."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed his cheek. "Guess it seems like a good time to tell you that I love you, too." Luke smiled and laced his fingers through hers.  
  
Lorelai shoved the last piece of her cone into her mouth and chewed it slowly. When she had finished, she leaned her head against his shoulder. "So what was with the random sharing-of-feelings moment we just had there?" Lorelai asked. She quickly added, "Not that I mind random feeling-sharing moments. On the contrary - I love them, I find them quite enjoyable. . .but since this one seemed to just come out of left field, I was wondering what sparked it."  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know. . .I was looking at you and it popped into my head that . . .maybe I don't say it enough. . .so now seemed like a good time to tell you."  
  
Lorelai lifted her head and scoffed. "Oh, come on Luke, are you kidding? You say it almost everyday, which is amazing since I know you're not Mr. I- share-my-feelings-all-the-time Guy." She let out a small laugh and said, "Trust me, you're a million times better about stuff like that than I'd ever imagined you'd be."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, that you're always so gruff and manly and quiet that it's surprising that you're so open and sensitive sometimes," Lorelai explained with a shrug. "I mean, you're always saying nice things to me and telling me you love me and. . .I don't know, you get into these little zones where you'll be like a completely different person from your usual monosyllabic self - all sweet and romantic and lovey-dovey." Lorelai pinched his cheek and added, "It's just so darn cute!"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and pushed her hand away. "Okay, enough already."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "I think the moral of this babbling is that, yes, you compliment me enough, and yes, I know that you love me," she concluded with a nod. She smiled and added, "But hey, I'm not complaining if you wanna say it more."  
  
Luke smiled and kissed her. They sat there for a few more minutes before they threw their trash away and headed home.  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, they walked through the front door. Lorelai kicked off her shoes, then went into the kitchen to get a drink. Luke walked over and sat down on the couch. He grabbed the remote from the coffee table, but before he turned on the television, he glanced toward the kitchen. He saw Lorelai standing at the table. His eyes glazed over her body . . . up her long legs, over her tight tank top that perfectly accentuated her curves, up to her hair that was pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Luke swallowed hard as he watched her take a long sip from a water bottle. He bit his bottom lip as he thought for a moment, then slowly got up from the couch.  
  
He walked through the hallway into the kitchen and stood directly behind her. She had set the water bottle on the table and was now flipping through a magazine. He reached around her and pushed the water bottle off the table, then pulled the magazine out of her hand and dropped it to the floor  
  
Surprised, Lorelai turned around and said, "What the heck are you - "  
  
Luke smiled and put a finger on her lips. "Shh. Ready for the element of surprise?"  
  
A slow smile appeared on her face, and she nodded.  
  
* * *  
  
Minutes later, Luke collapsed his exhausted body on top of hers, and they lay that way for several seconds, both of them panting loudly, until he finally stood up. He pulled up his boxers and jeans, then took a few steps back as he stared at Lorelai. She lay sprawled across the table, her eyes closed, her body heaving up and down with her heavy breathing. She was too exhausted to stand upright yet, and even so, was trying to put off the back pain she knew she'd encounter once she did stand up.  
  
"Oh my God," she moaned into the table. A few seconds passed before she opened her eyes, and then it was a few more before she slowly pushed herself up off the table. She grimaced slightly at the pain, and she reached behind her to rub her lower back.  
  
She finally turned around and saw Luke leaning against the counter, staring at her with a sly grin on his face. She sauntered over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him deeply. She pulled her lips away from his and rested her head against his chest, still breathing heavily.  
  
Luke wrapped his arms around her. "So. . .uh, how was that element of surprise?"  
  
"Mmm, incredible," Lorelai muttered as she closed her eyes. "You?"  
  
"Can't complain," Luke replied. He pulled her closer and ran his hands up and down her back. After a few seconds, she pulled back from him and smiled. He smiled back. "What?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged and ran a finger over his cheek. "I was just thinking how no one would ever believe me if I told them what you're really like."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean?"  
  
Lorelai gestured to the table. "I mean. . . doing stuff like that, or like how we did it in the gazebo or in my office or just. . .you know. People see you as reserved and conservative, for the most part. They'd never believe some of the stories I could tell them about things we've done."  
  
Luke tilted his head and pursed his lips.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not saying a word, but. . .there's this side of you that only I know, and no one would believe some of the things we do. I mean, do you think there's anyone who would believe me if I said, 'Oh, Luke just walked up behind me and ripped my clothes off and threw me on the table'?"  
  
Luke glanced over at the table. "Yeah, speaking of which, no food touches that table until I've scrubbed it down."  
  
Lorelai nodded in agreement as she followed his gaze. "Definitely." She turned back to him and smiled. "So. . . is it just me who invokes the savage beast in you to come out, or have you always been like that?"  
  
He shrugged. "I don't know. . . you're definitely a part of it, but I guess I always sort of. . .ya know. . ."  
  
"Had a wild-Luke inside who needed a little encouragement to come out and play?" Lorelai suggested.  
  
"You could say that," Luke nodded.  
  
Lorelai walked over and picked up her clothes. She pulled her tank top on as she asked, "Did you ever think about doing stuff like that to me?"  
  
"Like what?" Luke walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a dish towel, then stared at her expectantly.  
  
Lorelai shrugged as she pulled on her underwear. "Like, back when you used to admire me from afar. . . when you used to have this wild obsession with me. . . when you used to wish that - "  
  
"Okay, okay, get on with it," Luke interrupted, gesturing for her to continue.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Did you ever think about doing something really wild. . .you know, just grabbing me and making love to me on the counter or the diner floor or something?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Maybe."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Lorelai asked, smiling.  
  
"Sometimes, but that's not what I thought about the most," Luke replied.  
  
Intrigued, Lorelai sat down in a chair and said, "Go on."  
  
Luke leaned back against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. He shook his head slightly and said, "I just really, really wanted to . . . kiss you."  
  
"Kiss me? That's it?"  
  
"Yup." Luke stared up into space as he continued. "I mean, I'd always glance at you from across the diner, and I'd see you talking to Rory or something, and. . .you know, you'd be smiling or laughing, and I'd just think about how much I wanted to kiss you - to just . . .feel your lips against mine. That's what I wanted the most."  
  
Lorelai felt a chill run through her body as she listened to him. He was speaking softly and slowly, as though he'd always wanted to tell her this but was still slightly embarrassed about doing it. Lorelai stared up at him as he continued.  
  
"I would think about how, if I could kiss you one time, just once," he said, holding up his pointer finger, "then I'd be happy. I mean, even if things didn't work out between us, then I'd still be happy that I got to experience that kiss, you know?"  
  
Lorelai nodded quickly as she stared up at him with fascination. He'd fallen into one of those sensitive moods that she loved to see him in, and she wanted him to keep talking.  
  
Luke sighed, then shrugged. "But I could never get up the nerve to do it." He paused for a moment, then smiled to himself. "Well, I almost did." He squeezed his thumb and forefinger together. "I got this close once."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows with surprise. "You did?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yup."  
  
"You almost kissed me?" Lorelai asked with disbelief.  
  
He nodded again. "Yup."  
  
Lorelai let out a small laugh and asked, "Uh, was I there? Because I have no recollection of it whatsoever."  
  
Luke walked over to the table and sat down next to her. "Yeah, you were there. It was last year when you came to the diner to help me pick out paint colors. . .remember that?"  
  
Lorelai thought for a moment, then nodded. "Vaguely. What happened?"  
  
"Uh, we picked out paint colors," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Oh, so it was a successful night then."  
  
"Yeah, and then somehow we ended up sitting on the floor behind the counter," Luke continued. "And we were staring at each other, and I remember you were wearing a blue shirt and it made your eyes really stand out. I mean, they were glowing this sparkling bright blue . . . and it was just so incredible," Luke said quietly, shaking his head slightly toward the table. Lorelai stared at him, captivated by the story. "And we were smiling at each other and I had finally worked up the nerve to kiss you, and just as I started to lean forward. . . something happened."  
  
"What? What happened?" Lorelai asked anxiously.  
  
"There was a knock at the door," Luke grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Taylor and some of his stupid cronies were trying to get into the diner and it was locked, so they banged on it, and. . .you turned away and. . .I'll never forget that feeling of regret that I had. I scolded myself so many times for not leaning in quicker." He sighed disappointedly, then added. "Okay, that story doesn't have the greatest ending."  
  
"Aww," Lorelai frowned. "I'm sorry. I hope you did something to get back at Taylor."  
  
"Yeah, I spit in his food the next day," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God!"  
  
Luke laughed. "No, I'm kidding. . .but I did overcharge him for his meal."  
  
Lorelai let out a sigh of relief. "Whew, okay, that's better."  
  
Luke cleared his throat and stood up. "Okay, well, uh, I didn't mean to turn that into story hour."  
  
Lorelai stood up. "It was way better than the ones they have at the library, though." She reached out her hand. He grabbed it and she pulled him toward her into a hug, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. She pulled back and smiled. "See - the story does have a happy ending."  
  
Luke smiled. "Yeah, I guess it does." He kissed her again, then glanced down at the table. "Okay, I really have to sanitize that before I forget."  
  
Lorelai smiled and pulled back from him. "Go on, Mr. Clean, do your thing." She grabbed the rest of her clothes and said, "I'm gonna go take a bath. If you feel like coming up and giving me some entertainment, I'm really getting the urge to see you sing YMCA with all the hand gestures and stuff."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Forget it."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Fine, I won't make you sing and dance, but come up when you're done so you can sit and keep me company, okay?" Luke nodded. "Maybe you could. . . tell me some more stories?" she asked hopefully.  
  
Luke shrugged. "Maybe."  
  
"Okay, and then we'll go to the market," she said excitedly. Luke rolled his eyes, and Lorelai smiled at him and walked toward the staircase.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 40  
  
* * *  
  
A few minutes later, Luke walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Lorelai was already in the bubble-filled tub and just her face was visible, her hair clipped up on top of her head. She craned her neck back to look at Luke as he walked in, and she smiled up at him. "Hey - how's the table?"  
  
"Taken care of," Luke replied. "You can practically eat off that thing now."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Well, that's the intention I had when I bought it, so that's good."  
  
Luke walked over to the toilet and pulled the cover down. He pulled a towel off of the rack and draped it over the seat, then sat down and faced Lorelai.  
  
Lorelai leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. Luke stared at her until a small smile appeared on Lorelai's face, then he asked, "What are you thinking about?"  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes. "Dinner."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and muttered, "Why am I not surprised?"  
  
"I'm getting a strong craving for Chinese food," Lorelai told him. "What do you say tonight we go to the movies, then pick up Chinese on the way back?"  
  
"The movies tonight? What about your little 'I want to pour food over your body and lick it off' scenario that you've been waiting weeks for?" Luke asked.  
  
"Change of plans - it's pushed back to tomorrow instead," Lorelai said.  
  
"How come?"  
  
"Because I got a sudden craving for Chinese food and everyone knows you can't just eat a little bit of Chinese food - you have to scarf down Chinese food," Lorelai explained. "And since I'll be scarfing down Chinese food, I probably won't have room for any other food tonight, hence we'll need to push back all food-related activities to tomorrow night."  
  
Luke nodded. "Oh . . .okay."  
  
Lorelai stared at his expression, then smiled. "You look disappointed."  
  
He scoffed. "You're crazy."  
  
Lorelai lifted one of her hands out of the water and shook it at him, sprinkling him with water droplets. "You are! You're disappointed that we're not doing it tonight," she said with a laugh.  
  
"Will you knock it off? You're getting water on me."  
  
Lorelai lowered her hand back into the water and smirked. "You act like you don't wanna do it, but you're secretly looking forward to it. Admit it!"  
  
Luke stood up. "Look, I'm only in here to keep you company, not to be annoyed incessantly. I can go if you want me to."  
  
"No, no, don't go," Lorelai said quickly. "I won't annoy you anymore."  
  
Luke slowly sat back down and rested his elbows on his knees. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome," she replied as she ran her fingers over the top of the water. "So. . ."  
  
Luke tapped his foot a few times. "So. . ."  
  
Lorelai was quiet for a minute, then started humming the tune to YMCA.  
  
Luke smiled. "Very subtle. Forget it."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Okay, okay, sorry." She lifted one of her feet out of the water and looked at it. She wiggled her toes and said, "What do you think?"  
  
"I think it's a foot," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I mean, I think it's time for me to take off the red nail polish and go with that pretty maroon-ish color. Thoughts?"  
  
"Do whatever you want," he replied with a shrug.  
  
"Whatever I want?" She lowered her foot down. "Hm, can I paint your toes?"  
  
"No."  
  
Lorelai pouted her lips. "Please?"  
  
"No," he replied more sternly. "You know, you're working back up to that 'annoying thing' again."  
  
"Sorry," she muttered. She sighed loudly, then closed her eyes and said, "Tell me another story, Luke."  
  
"About what?" he asked.  
  
"About anything," she replied with a shrug.  
  
Luke thought for a moment, then leaned back and propped his feet up on the edge of the tub. "Okay, I got one for ya."  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, as Luke walked out of the bathroom to answer the ringing phone, Lorelai climbed out of the tub and pulled on her robe. She drained the bath water, then walked into the bedroom.  
  
Luke was sitting on the bed on the phone. "Is it Rory?" Lorelai whispered.  
  
Luke shook his head and continued talking. Lorelai walked over to her closet and pulled out some clothes. She pulled some undergarments out of her dresser, then brought everything back to the bed and started getting dressed.  
  
A few seconds later, Luke hung up the phone. "Who was it?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke stood up. "Oh, uh, Jess wants to borrow my truck this afternoon."  
  
Lorelai, in the middle of fastening her bra, paused a moment before she said, "Oh."  
  
Luke noticed her trepidation, but decided to ignore it. "Yeah, so he's gonna come pick it up in a few minutes."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Mmhmm."  
  
Luke gestured toward the stairway. "I'm gonna go down and wait for him."  
  
Lorelai turned toward him and smiled. "Okay, I'll be down soon and we can go to the market." Luke nodded and walked out of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, after the movie, they walked through the front door with dinner. Lorelai was carrying her bag of Chinese food while Luke carried a bag from the diner containing his chicken salad sandwich and a side salad. They brought them to the kitchen and set it on the table. Lorelai brought out some plates and silverware as Luke poured them some drinks, then they sat across from each other and started eating.  
  
As Luke took a bite of his sandwich, Lorelai said, "Doesn't that have mayo in it? Isn't mayo really bad for you?"  
  
"It's lowfat mayo," he informed her. "I made it myself, I know exactly what's in it . . .who knows what the hell you're eating over there." He gestured to her plate and made a face.  
  
Lorelai glanced down at her plate. "I don't care what it is, I just care that it tastes good."  
  
"That's the difference between you and me," Luke said with a shrug. He opened up the plastic container of salad and picked out a cucumber. He took a bite, then said, "So, working tomorrow?"  
  
Lorelai groaned and nodded. "All day. And I can't even leave early because I have a meeting at four." She bit into an eggroll, then smiled. "But at least I'll have something to look forward to at night."  
  
"Mmhmm," Luke mumbled as he sipped his drink. He set his glass down and said, "Though I'm not too sure about some of those foods you picked out."  
  
"Like what?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Like honey," he replied. "Do you have any idea how messy that's gonna be?"  
  
"Exactly the point of this type of thing, Luke," Lorelai replied. "We get all messy and turned on and then we go at it in the shower while we're getting cleaned up."  
  
Luke smiled and shook his head slightly.  
  
Lorelai let out a small laugh. "You picked out some funky things, too."  
  
Luke looked up and narrowed his eyes. "Like what?"  
  
"Uh, like, yogurt," Lorelai said with a laugh. "Man, I can't wait to see what you do with that one. I can see you like spreading it on my stomach all neatly with a spoon or something."  
  
"What - is that not how you're supposed to do it?" Luke asked innocently.  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened and she sat up straight. "Please tell me you're kidding!" She shook her head. "Luke, no! You have to get messy, you have to use your hands, you have to - "  
  
Luke laughed and held up his hands. "I know, I know, geez. Come on, I'm not a complete moron."  
  
Lorelai relaxed back in her chair. "Yeah, well, sometimes it's hard to tell," she muttered.  
  
Luke picked up a cherry tomato from his salad and threw it at her. She gasped laughingly as it hit her on the shoulder. She picked up a piece of chicken from her plate and threw it at him. It hit him on the cheek and Lorelai laughed loudly.  
  
"Hey!" he exclaimed. "Don't make a mess."  
  
"You started it," she reminded him as she scooped up a forkful of rice and aimed it him.  
  
Luke stood up and said, "I started it with a tomato. They aren't messy." He took a few steps back and pointed to her fork. "Don't even think about it."  
  
She stood up, holding the fork in a catapult position, and walked toward him with a sly grin on her face. "Uh oh, I'm thinking about it."  
  
He walked backward into Rory's bedroom. "You don't wanna make a mess in Rory's room, put it down."  
  
"Oh, she won't mind," Lorelai said with a shrug.  
  
"Yeah, well, I do," Luke said. He reached out and clasped his hand around the fork, and made a face as he felt the rice in his palm.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "I was gonna eat that."  
  
Luke opened his fist and held out the rice. "Go ahead."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I'll pass."  
  
"Thought so." Luke walked back into the kitchen and threw the rice in the garbage, then washed his hands. Lorelai sat back down in her seat, and as Luke sat down across from her, he handed her another fork. "Here, stop fooling around."  
  
"Yes, sir," she said, playfully saluting him. She ate a forkful of food, then said, "What do you wanna do tonight?"  
  
"I don't know," Luke said. "Play a game or something?"  
  
"A game. . .what, like cards?" Lorelai suggested. She paused a moment, then jumped up. "Ooh, I know!" She walked to the front closet and pulled it open. She stood on her tiptoes and grabbed a box from the top shelf, then brought it back to the table.  
  
"You play Trivial Pursuit?" Luke asked, surprised. "I don't picture you as a Trivial Pursuit kind of girl."  
  
"Yeah, well, Rory used to be obsessed with this game and she made me play with her all the time," Lorelai said. "The little brainiac used to always win until I started memorizing the cards at night." She smiled and tapped her head. "Smart move, huh?"  
  
"You used to cheat against your own daughter?" Luke said with a laugh.  
  
Lorelai sat down in her chair and shrugged. "Well, it was a motherly thing to do. You can't let her go through life letting her think that she'll win at everything, right? So I was teaching her good sportsmanship."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Nice one."  
  
Lorelai grinned. "Thank you." She patted the box and said, "So what do you say? We'll bust out some beers and play this tonight."  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure the beers will really help in a game that tests knowledge," Luke said dryly.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "No, but it'll make it more fun. What do you say?"  
  
"Fine by me," Luke replied.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, they were sitting on the floor around the coffee table in the middle of the game when there was a knock at the front door. Jess pushed it open slightly and called, "Anyone home?"  
  
"Yeah, come in," Lorelai called.  
  
Jess walked into the living room, twirling Luke's keys around his pointer finger. "Brought the truck back."  
  
Jess tossed the keys to Luke, who caught them and set them on the table. "Thanks. It's still in one piece, I assume?"  
  
"For the most part," Jess replied. He leaned on the back of the couch. "Got a hot game of Trivial Pursuit going? Man, you guys are living the wild life."  
  
"Yes, we are," Lorelai agreed.  
  
Jess glanced toward the television. "Hey, you mind if I borrow a video for tonight?"  
  
"Got a hot night of tv watching planned?" Luke asked dryly. "And you're mocking our Trivial Pursuit playing?"  
  
"Help yourself," Lorelai said, gesturing toward the shelf of videos next to the television. Lorelai glanced down at the board. "Okay, where were we? You need a green question." She glanced down at the card in her hand and read the question to herself, then smiled. "Ha, you'll never get this one. What country in the 1984 Olympics led the parade in the opening ceremonies?" She smiled at Luke.  
  
Luke thought for a moment, then picked up the dice as he answered, "Greece."  
  
"Ha! That's wro - " Lorelai started. She paused and glanced at the back of the card, then gasped. "How could you possibly know that? What are you, some kind of freak?"  
  
Luke rolled the dice. "Everyone knows that. It's a trick question."  
  
"Greece leads the parade for every Olympics," Jess added from behind them. "It's tradition."  
  
Lorelai frowned and threw the card at Luke. "I knew that," she mumbled.  
  
Luke moved his piece across the board. "Blue question." He sat back and waited for her to get another card.  
  
As Lorelai reached for the box, Jess exclaimed, "Whoa!" Luke and Lorelai both turned to look at him. He was standing at the television going through a stack of videos. "What the hell is going on here, Uncle Luke?" Jess picked up two of the dirty movies and turned around with a sly grin. "Now, I don't think these videos are appropriate viewing material to have around Lorelai and Rory. What are you trying to do to these poor impressionable girls?"  
  
Luke jumped up from the floor and rushed over to the television. "Give me those!" He grabbed the movies out of Jess' hands, then grabbed the others off of the television. Lorelai sat on the floor stifling her laughter.  
  
Jess shook his head disappointedly toward Luke. "Man, and I thought you were a better role model that that. I'm deeply ashamed of you."  
  
"Oh, knock it off," Luke grumbled. "It's none of your business what we watch. And just for the record, they're not mine - they're hers." He nodded toward Lorelai. "Tell him."  
  
Lorelai raised her hands innocently. "Luke, I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied, shaking her head. "You must've had too much to drink tonight or something."  
  
"Lorelai!" Luke said angrily.  
  
"I don't watch that kind of garbage," Lorelai said with a scoff. "Take responsibility for your own guilty pleasures, Luke."  
  
"Luke, why are you trying to blame her?" Jess asked with a laugh. "Like I'm sure she's the one who wants to watch this stuff. . . right." He rolled his eyes and patted Luke on the back. "You might wanna get some help for your little addiction there, buddy."  
  
Luke sighed loudly. He dropped the movies onto the armchair and pointed toward the doorway. "Go home."  
  
Jess smirked as he grabbed the Fight Club video from the shelf and waved it in the air. "I'm taking this."  
  
Luke gave him a shove toward the door. "Fine, now go home and watch it."  
  
Jess smiled to himself as he walked through the living room. "Later," he called over his shoulder.  
  
When they heard the front door shut, Luke glared at Lorelai. "What the hell was that about? Why'd you do that?"  
  
Lorelai giggled. "It was funny seeing the look on your face."  
  
"Oh, it was funny, was it?" Luke asked, walking toward her.  
  
Lorelai stood up quickly and backed away from him. "Yeah, it was funny." Luke backed her up against the staircase railing. "What are you doing?" she asked.  
  
"This." He picked her up and brought her to the couch. He dropped her on it and she laughed as he climbed on top of her and started tickling her stomach.  
  
She wriggled back and forth underneath him. "Stop. . .Luke, stop!" she laughed. "Oh my God!"  
  
He continued tickling her, keeping one hand on her stomach and bringing the other down to tickle her behind her knee. "Not until you apologize."  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she yelled through her laughing. Tears started to form in her eyes and she smacked his hands away. He finally pulled back from her, and her chest was heaving up and down from laughing so hard. "Oh my God," she panted.  
  
"There, I think you've learned your lesson," Luke said, taking a few steps back from the couch.  
  
Lorelai sat up and adjusted her shirt. "Yes, and it's that your face gets all red when people think you like dirty movies."  
  
Luke walked toward her with his hands out in front of him, poised to tickle her again. She jumped up off the couch. "Kidding, kidding!" she screeched as she backed away from him. He walked over to her and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back as she ran her fingers through his hair. Luke brought his hands up around her neck and deepened the kiss by softly parting her lips with his tongue.  
  
Lorelai smiled through the kiss. "Tired of playing the board game?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Wanna go upstairs?"  
  
"Yup." Luke grabbed her hand and led her toward the staircase.  
  
* * *  
  
The next night, Lorelai walked into the diner after work. Not seeing Luke, she set her purse on a stool, then walked behind the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee. Caesar walked out of the kitchen with some plates and nodded hello at her as she walked back to her stool and sat down.  
  
Caesar delivered the plates to a table, then walked over and said, "I'll tell him you're here."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks."  
  
Caesar walked back into the kitchen. A minute later, Luke walked back out and leaned across the counter to kiss her. "Hey."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"How was work?" Luke asked.  
  
"Looooong," she moaned. "Very long. You know, when one gets used to just picking up and leaving whenever she wants, it becomes very difficult when she has to actually be there for an entire day straight." She took a long drink of her coffee, then sighed loudly.  
  
"Yeah, well, welcome to the real world," Luke said.  
  
"Ugh, I hate the real world," Lorelai replied. "I want to live my life in fantasy land."  
  
"Trust me, you do," he told her. "You want something to eat?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll have the 'I had a long day and I'm ready to relax' meal," she replied.  
  
"Which is essentially a burger and fries, but with a creative title?" Luke asked.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Coming right up," Luke replied.  
  
* * *  
  
When Lorelai had finished eating, Luke took her plate into the kitchen while she finished up her second cup of coffee. He walked back out and stood talking with her until she was done. When she was finished, she stood up and asked, "Are you coming home soon?"  
  
Luke checked his watch. "Yeah, I should be home in like an hour. Think you can wait that long?"  
  
Lorelai smiled as she leaned forward and kissed him. "It'll be hard."  
  
Luke cleared his throat and winked at her. "Took the words right outta my mouth."  
  
Lorelai giggled and nudged him on the shoulder. "Dirty."  
  
He smiled and kissed her again. "See you later."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Luke stood at the counter and watched her as she walked out of the diner, then turned and walked into the kitchen.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Luke walked through the front door and dropped his keys on the hall table. He took his hat off and hung it up, then walked into the living room. "Lorelai!" he called.  
  
"Upstairs," she called back.  
  
Luke climbed the staircase up to their bedroom. Lorelai was sitting on the edge of her bed in her bra and panties watching television. Luke walked over and sat next to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "What's up?"  
  
Lorelai gestured to the television. "Check this out - I usually suck at this game because the questions are so obscure, but this is the high school championship of Jeopardy, and I'm finally able to answer questions in categories besides the ones relating to music, movies, or television. I mean, I actually knew the answer to a question in the Science and Nature category, can you believe that?" she asked excitedly.  
  
Luke nodded and patted her on the knee. "Very impressive." He walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. A few minutes later, he walked back out just as Lorelai was yelling, "What is photosynthesis!" She clapped her hands excitedly when she found out she was right. "Man, I should totally apply to be on this show! What do you think the cut off is for the high school championship?"  
  
"Uh, I'm guessing eighteen," Luke replied.  
  
"Hmm, you think I could pass for eighteen?" Lorelai said.  
  
"No way," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "You didn't have to answer so quickly. You could've at least pretended to consider it."  
  
Luke laughed. "Sorry." He paused for a moment, then repeated, "No way."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Hmph."  
  
Luke walked over to his side of the bed and took off his shoes, socks, jeans, and T-shirt. Lorelai walked over to the television and turned it off. "Did you eat dinner?"  
  
Luke gathered up his dirty clothes and dropped them into the clothes basket at the foot of the bed. "Yeah, I grabbed a sandwich."  
  
Lorelai nodded as he walked over to her and hugged her. He rocked back and forth on his feet a few times, swaying her from side to side. She smiled up at him and said, "You're ready and raring to go, huh?"  
  
He answered her with a passionate kiss, then pulled back and said, "What do you think?"  
  
"I think we should go downstairs and get the show on the road," Lorelai said. "I already put a blanket down there."  
  
Lorelai grabbed his hand and led him down the stairs. As they stepped into the living room, Lorelai said, "Windows and doors." They pulled down all the window shades and checked the door locks, then walked into the kitchen and did the same.  
  
Lorelai had spread a blanket on the center of the floor. She walked over to the refrigerator and began pulling out food, setting it along the edge of the blanket. Luke leaned against the counter and watched her. She kneeled down and pulled out some things from the bottom before she stood up and shut the door. "Okay, I think that's it."  
  
Luke walked over and grabbed a paper cup from the counter, then opened the freezer and pulled out an ice cube. He set it in the cup and placed it on the blanket. Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Hm, got something in mind with that?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Maybe." He pulled her close and kissed her. "You'll have to wait and see."  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, the two of them walked out of the bathroom and into their bedroom. "Now, was that as bad as you thought it would be?" Lorelai asked as she pulled on a t-shirt.  
  
"No," Luke replied. "It was certainly as messy as I thought it would be. Though I now have a newfound respect for peanut butter."  
  
Lorelai giggled as she leaned against the doorframe and waited for him to pull on a pair of boxers. When he did, he walked over and hugged her. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and pressed her head against his chest. "Mm, I love you," she said softly.  
  
He kissed the top of her head. "Love you, too." He pulled back from her. "But you already know that because it's etched into your brain."  
  
She smiled. "Yes, it is." She grabbed his hand and led him downstairs. "Let's go watch tv."  
  
"Absolutely not," he replied sternly. "We are cleaning up the kitchen first."  
  
Lorelai groaned loudly. "Fine, fine. Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 41  
  
* * *  
  
After work the next night, Lorelai walked into the diner. Luke smiled and nodded toward her from the counter, then pointed to an empty table in the corner. She smiled and walked over to it. She sat down and pulled the most recent issue of InStyle magazine out of her purse before she hung the purse on the back of her chair.  
  
She flipped through it for a few minutes before Luke finally walked over to her. She didn't notice him until he cleared his throat, and, surprised, she looked up from the magazine and smiled. "Hey."  
  
"Hi." Luke leaned down and kissed her before he sat down next to her. "How was work?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "It was okay, same ol' stuff going on." She suddenly smiled and added, "Oh, Michel got a new pair of shoes!"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "How many times did you step on them?"  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Four, and then he started screaming French obscenities at me."  
  
"How do you know they're obscenities?"  
  
"Oh, trust me, I've been hearing them for years. Is it completely evil of me to take joy in watching him get upset?"  
  
"Yes," Luke replied.  
  
"Ah, well, then I'm evil," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yes, you are," he agreed. "Did you take those movies back?"  
  
"Yes," Lorelai replied. "I contemplated dropping them off on the way to Friday night dinner, but as many times as I practiced saying the phrase 'Honey, wait in the car while Mommy returns her porn' over in my head, I just couldn't get it to sound appropriate, so I decided to run up there this afternoon."  
  
"Good choice."  
  
"Thank you. So how was your . . ." Her voice trailed off as she glanced past Luke and saw Caesar walk out of the kitchen. "What's he all smiley about? Did you get a fun new kitchen appliance?"  
  
Luke turned around to see who she was talking about. "Oh, Caesar?" Luke turned back to her. "No, he's happy because he just got a promotion."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Really?"  
  
"Yup, and a nice raise to go with it," he added. "You know, since I'd been calling on him more often and putting more responsibility on him, I figured it was only fair."  
  
"Oh, absolutely, he deserves it," Lorelai agreed. "But can I give you a little tip?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Lorelai lowered her voice. "If he's gonna be doing more cooking, you should teach him how to cook fluffier pancakes. His aren't as good as yours."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I'll get right on that. I'll start up my own little cooking class."  
  
"Good, thank you," Lorelai replied. "You gonna eat with me?"  
  
Luke glanced around the crowded diner. "Nah, I should probably get back in the kitchen. Dinner crowd's picking up." He stood up. "I'll bring you a burger."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Mmkay." As he walked away, she brought her gaze back to her magazine.  
  
A few minutes later, Miss Patty walked over to Lorelai's table. "Hello dear."  
  
Lorelai looked up and smiled. "Hey Patty. What's new?"  
  
Patty glanced around before she said, "Well, I got Sookie's shower invitation today."  
  
"Wow, that was fast," Lorelai said. "I just mailed them yesterday. Can you make it?"  
  
"Oh, I wouldn't miss it," Patty replied. "Let me know if there's anything you need me to help out with."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Well, if you can choreograph a dance routine involving produce, baked goods, and risotto. . .that would be extremely helpful."  
  
Patty laughed. "I'll see what I can whip together by then," she promised.  
  
"Great."  
  
Patty smiled. "See you later."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Patty walked away as Luke walked over with her plate and cup of coffee. He set it on the table, then glanced back at Patty and said, "What was that about?"  
  
Lorelai shoved a fry into her mouth. "Oh, Patty knows some guy who can get free samples of Viagra and she wanted to see if we needed any, but I assured her you have no problems in that area."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Sorry I asked," he muttered as he walked away.  
  
* * *  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Luke walked back out of the kitchen with two plates. He served them to people at the counter, then glanced toward Lorelai. She was resting her elbows on the table and her hands were covering her face.  
  
Concerned, Luke walked over to her. "You okay?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her barely-touched plate of food.  
  
Lorelai looked up at him, moving her hands from her face to her stomach. "I just started feeling really nauseous."  
  
"Is it from the food, you think?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, I was feeling it earlier at work and it went away, but now it's back." She pushed her plate away. "I don't really feel like eating anymore." She stood up and grabbed her purse. "I'm gonna head home and lie down."  
  
Luke eyed her warily. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you want me to drive you?"  
  
Lorelai smiled appreciatively. "No thanks, I'll be fine." She kissed him and started walking toward the door. "See you at home."  
  
"Bye."  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Luke walked out of the bathroom and into their bedroom as Lorelai was waking up. She yawned loudly, then groggily asked, "What time did you get home last night?"  
  
Luke sat on the edge of the bed. "A little after nine. You were already sound asleep."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I felt really sick. I just had to lie down and not move for a long time."  
  
"Are you okay now?" Luke asked.  
  
"Not really," she muttered as she sat up. "I still feel crampy and nauseous."  
  
Luke put his hand on her forehead. "You feel warm."  
  
"Really? Because I'm freezing," she said as she pulled the blanket up around her. She brought her hands up to her head. "Ugh, my head is pounding."  
  
"You're not going to work today," Luke said sternly. "Lie back down."  
  
"No, I'll be fine, it's just part of the whole monthly ritual," Lorelai insisted. "Cramps, nausea, headaches, extreme irritability - comes with the territory of being a woman."  
  
Luke tilted his head. "Oh, so you're. . ." His voice trailed off.  
  
"Yup," she replied. "I think that's all it is."  
  
"Still. . .you don't usually complain about it this much. You probably shouldn't go into work until it goes away just in case it's more than that."  
  
"No, I'm sure it's not - " Lorelai stopped in mid sentence and she clutched her stomach. "Ow!" She fell back against her pillow and grimaced. "Sharp shooting pains!"  
  
Luke's eyes widened with concern. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Ugh, these random pains just keep attacking me. They're like the cramps I normally get, only twenty times worse," Lorelai muttered with her eyes closed.  
  
"All right, forget it, you're not leaving this house today," Luke said. "You're probably coming down with a stomach virus or something."  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes and nodded slowly. "Maybe."  
  
Luke stood up. "Okay, so you should call the inn or something."  
  
"I'll call Sookie at home," she muttered. "Can you hand me the phone?"  
  
Luke picked up the phone. "What's the number?"  
  
Lorelai recited it and he dialed, then handed her the phone. "Thanks." She rolled onto her side and held the phone against her ear as Luke walked over to his dresser and started getting dressed.  
  
A few rings later, Sookie answered, "Hello?"  
  
"Hey Sookie, it's me," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hey, what's up?" Sookie asked. "Everything okay?"  
  
"No, I'm in severe pain. I'm coming down with a virus or something."  
  
"Aw, I'm so sorry," Sookie said sympathetically.  
  
"Yeah, I felt sick a few times yesterday, and then last night it really hit me," Lorelai said. "I just feel really nauseous and have bad stomach pains."  
  
"Uh oh," Sookie replied.  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "What's 'uh oh' - what was that for?"  
  
"Well, I mean. . . do you think you're. . ." Sookie's voice trailed off.  
  
Lorelai paused a moment, waiting for Sookie to continue. When she didn't, Lorelai said, "Uh, Sookie, if you finished that sentence with sign language, I'm gonna have to remind you that I can't see you from here."  
  
"Pregnant," Sookie whispered. "Do you think you're pregnant?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes slightly. "No, I started yesterday right on schedule."  
  
"So maybe that's why you're feeling crappy?" Sookie suggested.  
  
"No, at first I thought that's what it was, but it's much worse than it usually is."  
  
"Aw, I'm sorry," Sookie said. "So you're not coming in today?"  
  
She glanced toward Luke as she replied, "No, I've got strict instructions from my live-in doctor that I should stay home."  
  
"Aw, okay, honey, I'll tell Michel," Sookie replied.  
  
"Thanks, Sookie."  
  
"You're welcome. Feel better. Call if you need anything," Sookie replied.  
  
"I will. Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Lorelai reached over to the nightstand and hung up the phone, then sighed loudly as she rolled onto her back. "Luuuuke, I don't like being sick," she whined.  
  
"Yeah, well, not many people do," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai pouted and twirled her hair aimlessly around her pointer finger as she watched him get dressed. After he pulled on his shoes, he grabbed his wallet and walked over to sit next to her. "Listen, I'll only go into work for a few hours, then I'll come home so you're not alone all day, okay?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay."  
  
"You need anything before I leave?" Luke asked.  
  
"Can you get me something to eat?" Lorelai asked. "I can feel my stomach rumbling for food underneath the pain and I don't want to starve my poor friend all day."  
  
"All right, I'll get you something light," Luke said. He stood up and left the room.  
  
Several minutes later, he returned with a plate of toast, a glass of water, and some aspirin. He set it all on the nightstand, then sat down next to her. She sat up and leaned against the headboard, and he handed her the aspirin and water. "For the headache."  
  
She took the pills with some water, then picked up a piece of toast and took a small bite. She chewed it slowly, scared that it would upset her stomach even more. Luke watched her closely as she swallowed it down. "Is it okay?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I think so."  
  
"Okay, I gotta go," Luke said. "If you need anything, call me. I'll be home as soon as I can."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay."  
  
He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Love you."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Love you, too."  
  
"Bye." Luke stood up and walked to the door, giving her one last sympathetic glance before he walked through it and went down the steps.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Luke arrived home from work and immediately went upstairs to check on her. He walked into the bedroom and found her asleep on the bed.  
  
He grabbed a couple of dumbbells from the corner of the room, then brought them downstairs. He walked out the side door and onto the porch, and he began working out with them.  
  
Twenty minutes later, he saw Babette come out of her house and walk toward him. "Hey gorgeous!" she called.  
  
Luke casually nodded toward her, used to the numerous pet names she called him. As she walked up the porch steps, he set down his weights and wiped his face on his T-shirt. "How's it going?"  
  
"Good, doll, good," Babette replied. "Not working today?"  
  
"Well, I was this morning but Lorelai's sick, so I came home," Luke explained. "She's asleep right now."  
  
Babette gasped. "Sick? What's wrong with her?"  
  
"Oh, it's some sort of virus that's going around," Luke said. "You know, stomach pains, nauseous feeling, that kind of stuff."  
  
"Aww, the poor baby," Babette said, frowning sympathetically. "And you came home early to be with her, how adorable is that?" She clasped her hands together and smiled sweetly at Luke.  
  
"Yeah, I feel better being here in case she needs me," Luke said with a shrug.  
  
Babette grinned and patted Luke on the shoulder. "You know, not all women are lucky enough to find a guy like you."  
  
Luke glanced down at his feet uncomfortably. "Yeah. . .well . . ." He looked up and shrugged. "Not all guys are as lucky as me to find a girl like her."  
  
"Ah, my God, you're so adorable, I wanna eat you up!" She stared at him for a moment, then smiled and pointed toward his face. "You know, your eyes light up when you talk about her."  
  
Luke's face reddened slightly as he looked toward Babette's house. "Yeah, well, she's, uh, . . .I just. . .ya know. . ."  
  
Babette smiled and nodded. "I know. . .trust me, dear, we all know."  
  
Luke nodded as he picked up his dumbbells and gestured toward the house. "Uh, I'm gonna go in and check on her."  
  
Babette squeezed his arm and said, "Tell her I hope she feels better, will ya?"  
  
"I'll do that," he replied. "See you later."  
  
"Bye-bye," Babette called over her shoulder as she walked down the porch steps.  
  
Luke walked into the house through the back door and set his weights on the kitchen table. He washed his hands, then poured himself a glass of orange juice and walked upstairs with it.  
  
As Luke walked into the bedroom, he saw Lorelai roll over onto her back. He took a sip of his juice, then set it on the nightstand and sat down on the bed. "Hey. . .you up?" he whispered.  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes and saw him sitting next to her. "Hey," she mumbled groggily. "You're home."  
  
"Yeah. . .how ya feeling?" he asked. He pushed her hair out of her face and felt her forehead. "Still warm."  
  
"I threw up my toast like ten minutes after you left," she said with a frown. "Luckily I made it to the bathroom in time. Then I had that disgusting throw-up taste in my mouth for awhile, which was extremely pleasant."  
  
Luke made a face. "Yeah, it's pleasant hearing about it, too," he told her. "Thanks."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "You're welcome. Right after that I went to sleep, and I've been doing that all morning. I do feel a little better, though. The stomach pains have lessened. Now instead of feeling like a thousand burning stakes are jabbing me from the inside, it only feels like six hundred."  
  
"Well, uh. . .that's good, I guess," Luke said. "Babette said to tell you she hopes you feel better."  
  
"Aw, that's nice," Lorelai replied. "You talked to her?"  
  
"No, she sent me a telepathic message," Luke replied, rolling his eyes. She weakly smacked his knee with her hand, and he smiled. "Yeah, I just saw her outside."  
  
Lorelai nodded and sighed softly. She was quiet for a few seconds before she said, "I'm hungry."  
  
"You shouldn't eat anything else," Luke said. "You'll throw it up."  
  
"But it feels a little better," she reminded him.  
  
"I know, but you shouldn't put food in there yet. You should be drinking lots of fluids." He picked up his juice from the nightstand and held it up. "Here, drink this and see how your stomach handles it."  
  
Lorelai groaned with discomfort as she sat up for the first time in several hours. She took the cup of juice and sipped it slowly. Luke watched her, rubbing her leg through the blanket. She drank half of it, then handed the cup back to him to set on the nightstand. She leaned her head against the headboard and closed her eyes.  
  
"You want me to leave so you can go back to sleep?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai shook her head, then opened her eyes. "Can you stay with me?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"What. . .like, lie down with you?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Please?"  
  
Luke shrugged and stood up. He took off his shoes, then walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed under the covers. Lorelai snuggled up to him and rested her head against his chest. He brought his arms up around her and held her. "Thank you," she mumbled. Luke kissed the top of her head, then closed his eyes.  
  
* * *  
  
Several hours later, they were both sitting on the bed playing cards while Lorelai snacked on crackers. Luke watched her as she took a bite of one. "You're getting crumbs all over the bed," he pointed out.  
  
Lorelai took another bite. "Point?"  
  
"That is my point," Luke said. "I don't like sleeping with crumbs. It feels like you're sleeping with sand, only it's worse because the crumbs attract bugs, so then not only are you sleeping with crumbs, but then you've also got the bugs in there, too."  
  
"Actually, you probably won't be sleeping with bugs *and* crumbs because the bugs would probably eat the crumbs, so you'd just be sleeping with the bugs," Lorelai pointed out. "Duh."  
  
Luke pursed his lips. "I'm so glad that you're feeling better and have gotten that quick verbal thing back."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." She lifted up her shirt to expose her stomach and she rubbed it lightly. "Yeah, my pal's feeling better now. I think by tomorrow it will be completely prepared for a burger and fries."  
  
"No way," Luke replied, shaking his head. "You can't go putting fried food into it right away. . .you have to give it time to strengthen back up. If you put heavy food in it too soon, it'll put a damper on the whole 'getting better' process."  
  
Lorelai smiled to herself as she collected the cards. "When did you become such a virus expert?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I took care of my dad when he was sick. I learned a few things."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened slightly. "Oh."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Okay. . .so, no fried food. Can I at least have some coffee now?" she asked, leaning toward him and pouting. "I'm getting desperate. I'll do anything you want, pleeeeease!"  
  
Luke stared at her for a moment before he said, "Okay, just a little bit, though." He climbed off the bed. "And I'm not making it strong."  
  
"Okay, anything'll do, just hurry!" she urged him. Luke walked out of the room, and Lorelai put the cards back in the box and tossed it on the floor. He returned a few minutes later with a cup of coffee, and she took a long sip and moaned happily. "Ahhh, that's good stuff."  
  
"Don't drink it too fast, I'm sure that's not good for your stomach," Luke said. "Especially since it's not even good for a healthy stomach."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She waved him off and set the mug down. She glanced at the clock. "Oh my God, it's two already?"  
  
"Yup. What do you wanna do now?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Just watch TV, I guess." She picked up the remote and turned the television on. "I think Judge Judy's on."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and stood up. "Okay, you watch that while I go work in the yard. Holler out the window if you need me." He leaned down and said, "That's if you *need* something important - do not call me all the way up here to complain about somebody on the stupid show."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "But it's always better making fun of people with someone else!"  
  
"Don't do it," he said sternly. He kissed her cheek, then walked out of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, Lorelai heard footsteps on the staircase and she looked toward the doorway expectantly. There was a knock on the doorframe, then a voice asked, "Are you decent?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "No, Sookie, I tend to just lie around completely naked when I'm sick."  
  
"Oh, well, I'll wait for you to get dressed then," Sookie replied. "Tell me when you're done."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Get in here, Sookie."  
  
"Oh, that was fast," she said as she walked into the room. "How're you feeling?"  
  
"Better," Lorelai replied. "Come sit down."  
  
Sookie sat down on the bed facing Lorelai. "I brought you some soup, but Luke said you might not be ready to eat it yet. It's down in the fridge."  
  
"Aww, thanks Sookie," Lorelai replied. She rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, he's monitoring my levels of food intake - I'm slowly building up toward more solid foods."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Wow, he finally gets a chance to control your eating habits. He's always dreamed of that."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, well, he better not get used to it." She paused a moment, then glanced toward the door and whispered, "Can you shut that?" Sookie nodded and shut the door, then sat back down.  
  
Lorelai lowered her voice. "He's been taking care of me all day, and usually when I'm sick, I just like to be left alone, but . . . " She smiled and shook her head slightly. "It's so cute watching him snap into caretaker mode. He's been lying down with me, playing cards with me, watching TV with me, getting me whatever I need. It's just been so great having him around. It makes being sick go by faster, you know?"  
  
Sookie smiled and patted Lorelai's knee. "I know what you mean."  
  
Lorelai glanced down and examined her fingernails. "You know how when you and Jackson first decided to move in together, you were afraid that seeing each other everyday might make you guys get sick of each other?"  
  
Sookie nodded. "Boy, do I. I worried about that so much."  
  
Lorelai lifted her head to look at Sookie. "Well, I didn't tell anyone this, but. . .I kinda thought about that, too."  
  
"You did?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, and even though I was pretty sure it wouldn't happen, part of me was afraid that I would get sick of him, and an even bigger part of me was afraid that . . ."  
  
"He'd get sick of you," Sookie finished. "Yeah, I can definitely see how that would worry you."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows and smirked. "Thanks a lot, Sookie."  
  
Sookie smiled. "I don't mean it to sound like, 'Oh, you're so annoying that you should've been really worried.' I just meant that I could understand where that's coming from because that's what I was worried about, too. I was more worried about him getting sick of me than the other way around."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, and I was worried about both, but . . ." Lorelai stared down at her blanket and ran her fingers over the thread lines while she thought to herself. She finally glanced at Sookie and said, "Can I be completely and one hundred percent cheesy with you right now?"  
  
Sookie smiled and nodded. "I love cheese."  
  
Lorelai glanced back down at the blanket as she spoke softly. "It's like, he's around me all the time, but I still get so excited every time I see him. . . and that's never happened to me before with someone. Not this much, anyway. I mean, when he walks into a room, my heart starts beating quicker and I just get this feeling of relief that he's there. Just. . .being around him makes me happier than when I'm not, you know?"  
  
Sookie smiled and nodded. "I know exactly what you mean."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "And even when we're being intimate and stuff. . . I mean, even though we've done it so many times, it hasn't gotten boring or mechanical like it does in some relationships. I mean, even when he holds my hand or strokes my hair or runs his hands over my back. . .even little things like that still make my heart start racing and make chills run through my body. I've never had that happen with someone so far into a relationship. Usually those things tend to fade away, but. . .this time it's different. That's why I know it's something special." She sighed softly and glanced up at Sookie, who stared back at her with wide eyes. "Too corny?"  
  
Sookie smiled and shook her head. "No, that's beautiful, honey."  
  
Lorelai smiled and casually glanced past Sookie toward the closet, and her eyes suddenly locked onto something.  
  
After several seconds, Sookie asked, "What are you looking at?" She followed Lorelai's gaze and saw the garment bag containing her wedding dress hanging up in the closet. She turned back to Lorelai with widened eyes. "Have you been thinking about. . ." Her voice trailed off as she gestured to her dress.  
  
Lorelai smiled and slowly nodded.  
  
Sookie gasped and clapped both hands over her mouth. "Oh my God! That's so exciting!" she exclaimed, the words muffled by her hands.  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "He's not ready."  
  
Sookie removed her hands and frowned. "How do you know?"  
  
Lorelai sighed and leaned back against the headboard. "The subject came up and he said he's not ready to talk about it."  
  
"And did you tell him that you were?" Sookie asked.  
  
"No, I told him that I'm not ready to talk about it either," Lorelai replied. "I didn't want to rush him so I told him that I haven't really thought about it, but the truth is. . ."  
  
"You've been thinking about it," Sookie finished.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I have. I mean, I know it's only been a few months, but I just. . .I've never felt like this before, Sookie. This is what I've imagined it would feel like when I'm with the person who I'm supposed to be with, you know?" She was quiet for a few seconds, then smiled to herself. "Sometimes I pretend that we're married."  
  
Sookie grinned. "I do that with Jackson. I mean, we're already living together, it won't be much different, right?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Right." She paused a moment, then added, "I think it'll happen eventually. . .I mean, it's the next logical step, right?"  
  
"Right," Sookie agreed. "Now all you can do is sit here and wonder about how long eventually is. . .months, years, decades."  
  
"I hate not knowing," Lorelai said.  
  
"It's a part of life," Sookie said, falling back onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling.  
  
Lorelai groaned and made a face. "That part of life sucks." They were both silent for a few minutes until Lorelai finally said, "Sookie?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Can you please go sneak around the warden and bring me up some of your soup?" she begged. "I'm dying of starvation here."  
  
Sookie smiled and sat up. "Sure. Anything else while I'm down there?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Nah, that's it. . .then you can come back up here and tell me cheesy things about you and Jackson."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Will do. Be right back."  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Lorelai, tired of the bedroom scenery, had moved down to the living room. Luke sat at one end of the couch as Lorelai lay across it with her feet propped up on him, and he rubbed them while they watched Footloose.  
  
"You know, this isn't a good movie to watch when I'm sick," Lorelai commented.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because this soundtrack is like one of the greatest movie soundtracks ever and I just wanna get up and dance every time a song comes on, but the sharp pain in my side is preventing me from doing so," Lorelai said.  
  
"I thought that pain was gone."  
  
"It comes and goes," Lorelai replied. "It'll be throbbing one minute, then mild the next."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Can you get up and dance for me?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"No."  
  
Lorelai pouted. "Please?"  
  
Luke stared at her for a moment. "Maybe later."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Really?"  
  
He shook his head. "No."  
  
Lorelai frowned at him and turned back to the movie.  
  
* * *  
  
When the movie was almost over, a car horn honked from outside. "Agh, that's Rory!" Lorelai screamed excitedly.  
  
Luke groaned and rubbed his ear. "Yes, and now all of Stars Hollow knows it." He turned off the television and stood up. "Stay here."  
  
Lorelai sat up. "Stay here?"  
  
"Yes, she'll be in the house in a few seconds, there's no point in wasting your energy going out there to see her," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai stood up and wrapped her blanket around her shoulders. "I want to." She grimaced slightly, but began following Luke to the front door. He pulled it open and they stepped onto the porch as Rory and Christopher were climbing out of the car.  
  
"Hey Mom!" Rory called. "Hey Luke!"  
  
Luke walked down toward the car as Lorelai smiled and waved from the porch.  
  
Luke greeted Rory with a hug. "Hey, glad you're home," he said.  
  
"Thanks." Rory pulled back and glanced toward Lorelai, narrowing her eyes at the blanket wrapped around her. "What's wrong with her?"  
  
"She's sick," Luke said.  
  
"Aw." Rory frowned as she walked toward the porch. Luke walked over to Christopher and helped him unload the trunk.  
  
Rory ran up the steps to Lorelai. "Hey Mom!"  
  
"Ah, I missed you, get over here!" Lorelai exclaimed, pulling her into a tight hug.  
  
"I missed you, too." Rory kissed her on the cheek and said, "Are you okay? Luke said you're sick."  
  
"Yeah, it's just a stomach virus," Lorelai said. "Forget about it. How was your trip?"  
  
Rory smiled. "Good, it was good. I'll tell you about it later." She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes with uncertainty. "But are you sure you're okay? You look like - "  
  
Lorelai held up her hand. "Judging from the expression on your face and the tone of your voice, I'm guessing that the possibility of you finishing that sentence with something along the lines of 'a million bucks' is less likely then you finishing it with something along the lines of 'a piece of crap.' My tip is, don't finish it."  
  
Rory smiled. "Okay, sorry. Let's go inside." They walked slowly into the house and headed toward the sofa. Lorelai started to sit down, but then said, "Wait."  
  
"What is it?" Rory asked, taking a step back.  
  
"I wanna show you something." Lorelai dropped her blanket on the couch, then turned around and lifted up her shirt. "Check it out."  
  
Rory gasped loudly. "Oh my God!" She reached out and felt the heart tattoo. "Mom, is that real?"  
  
"Is what real?" a voice asked. Both girls looked up and saw Christopher and Luke walk into the living room with Rory's luggage. Luke saw what they were doing and smiled. "Oh, that."  
  
"What is it?" Christopher asked, walking over to them. "Oh my God!" His eyes widened and he reached out to feel it.  
  
"Why does everyone always feel the need to touch it?" Lorelai asked with a laugh.  
  
"Because we need to make sure it's not a mirage," Rory said.  
  
"Wow, Lor. . .nice," Christopher commented, nodding approvingly.  
  
"Thank you," she said as she pulled her shirt back down. She sat down on the couch and pulled the blanket around her. "It's sexy, it's cool, its . . . gonna fade away in three weeks."  
  
Rory smiled. "So it's fake?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah." She felt a pain in her stomach and winced. "Ah, pain."  
  
"You okay?" Christopher asked.  
  
"Stomach virus," Lorelai replied.  
  
Christopher frowned sympathetically. "Oh, not good. How long have you had it?"  
  
"Today and yesterday," she replied. "It's not the 'throw up all the time' kind, it's just the 'severe nausea and pain' kind. It's much better than it was, though."  
  
"Good, that's good," Christopher replied.  
  
Luke walked over and stood behind Lorelai. "Uh, you want something to drink?" he asked Christopher.  
  
"Nah, I'm good, thanks," he replied. "I better get going, actually." He leaned down and kissed Lorelai on the cheek. "Feel better, Lor."  
  
"Thanks," she replied. "And thanks for returning her in one piece."  
  
Christopher smiled. "My pleasure." He reached across the couch and shook Luke's hand. "See ya."  
  
"Take care," Luke replied.  
  
Christopher put an arm around Rory's shoulder. "Come walk me out, kiddo."  
  
Rory smiled. "Okay."  
  
As Rory and Christopher walked outside, Luke put his hands on Lorelai's shoulders and rubbed them. Lorelai tilted her head back to look up at him, and he leaned down and kissed her upside down. She reached up and stroked his face with her hands as she kissed him back.  
  
When he heard Rory walk back in, Luke pulled away from the kiss, but not before she saw them. She smiled and said, "Sorry, don't let me interrupt your Spiderman-inspired moment there."  
  
"Get over here," Lorelai said, patting the seat next to her. "Let's exchange stories."  
  
* * *  
  
Over an hour later, they were still sitting on the couch talking when Luke walked in from the kitchen and sat down in the armchair. "You done gossiping yet?"  
  
"Just about. . .why'd you leave in the middle of the conversation?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Because when she finished talking about her sightseeing and delved into the personal lives of Chris and Sherry, I decided the basics of the trip were finished and that I didn't need to hear anymore," Luke said.  
  
"You missed all the juicy stuff," Lorelai said. She yawned and leaned her head against the arm of the couch. "Ugh, I'm so tired."  
  
"Aw, this sickness has been wearing you out, huh?" Rory asked.  
  
"Mmhmm," she mumbled as she closed her eyes.  
  
Luke cleared his throat. "Uh, Rory, what do you say me and you go get some dinner and let your mom have the house to herself for a little while?"  
  
Rory glanced over at him and smiled. "Sure, okay." She turned to Lorelai and patted her on the back. "You want us to bring you back anything?"  
  
"A cheeseburger," she muttered. "I need real food."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "No, you're not ready for food like that yet." Rory walked toward the front door as Luke walked over to Lorelai and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Luke grabbed his wallet from the desk as he walked to the front door, and he and Rory stepped out onto the porch.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 42  
  
* * *  
  
Luke and Rory walked across the front yard and climbed into the Jeep. Luke started the car, then said, "Okay, this'll be your welcome home dinner, so you pick the restaurant."  
  
"Cool, thanks. Um, have any preferences?" Rory asked.  
  
"Well, I'll probably get a salad, so as long as you pick a place that has that, I'll be all set," Luke replied.  
  
Rory rubbed her hands together. "Ooh, you've just given me so much power, Luke."  
  
"Yeah, well. . .hurry up and use it, I'm hungry," he replied.  
  
Rory rubbed her chin with her fingertips and thought for a moment, then said, "Teriyaki Joe's."  
  
Luke made a face. "Teriyaki Joe's?"  
  
Rory frowned. "What's wrong with TJ's? They have good food. . . it's a little spicy for some people, but it's still good. Plus, they have salad, thereby meeting your criterion for an acceptable dining establishment." She pouted and put her hands together. "Please, Luke, please, please, please?"  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "You're an exact replica of your mother sometimes."  
  
Rory grinned. "Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment."  
  
"You definitely should," he said. "Okay, Teriyaki Joe's, it is."  
  
Rory smiled at him. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome," he replied. He backed out of the driveway and headed toward the restaurant.  
  
"I feel so bad that Mom's sick," Rory said.  
  
"Yeah, me too," Luke said. "Though it's easier to keep up with her when she's weak since she doesn't talk as fast. But that's probably from the lack of coffee."  
  
Rory smiled. "Yeah, probably." She shook her head slightly. "I still can't believe she got a tattoo. It looks so real."  
  
"Yeah, it does," Luke said. "I thought it was, too, when I saw it for the first time."  
  
Rory's eyes widened. "You mean, you didn't know she was gonna get one?"  
  
"Nope, she surprised me with it just like you," Luke said.  
  
"Huh, I thought you were with her when she got it," Rory said.  
  
"Well, I kind of was," Luke replied. "We went shopping and we split up for a little while and went into separate stores, and that's when she got it. She showed me when we got home."  
  
"Oh," Rory replied. "Did she get it done around here?"  
  
"Uh, no, it was a little. . .uh, shop in Hartford." He glanced at Rory uncomfortably, hoping that she wouldn't ask any more questions about the store.  
  
"Did you take a picture of it? She should get a picture of it before it fades," Rory said. "You know, just to remember that she went out and got one, you know?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, good idea," Luke said. "We'll have to remember to do that." A minute later, as he pulled up to the restaurant, he said, "Here we are." He parked on the street out front and they walked inside.  
  
* * *  
  
Ten minutes later, they had ordered their food and their drinks had just been served. Luke sipped his tea, then folded his hands in his lap and glanced around the crowded restaurant. He brought his gaze to Rory and said, "So. . .from your trip recap earlier, it sounds like you had a good time with your Dad, huh?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "Yeah, it was all right."  
  
Surprised, Luke raised his eyebrows. "Just all right? From the way you were talking, it sounded like you couldn't wait to go back next month."  
  
"That's true, I can't wait. . .because Boston's great, I love it there," Rory said. "The museums, the sights, Harvard. . .there's so much to do there."  
  
"But?" Luke prompted.  
  
Rory sighed. "But sometimes. . . I don't know, it's just different being with my dad than with Mom, you know?"  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked.  
  
"I mean, well. . ." Rory thought for a moment as she took a sip of her soda. "I guess I mean that my dad is just. . .my dad but my mom is. . .my friend *and* my mom, you know? It's hard to explain," Rory said. "But I always find myself acting differently around him, and especially Sherry, as if I'm trying to make a good impression or something, but. . .I shouldn't have to do that with my own dad. I should be able to be casual and be myself and not worry about what they think of me, you know?"  
  
"I get it," Luke said.  
  
Rory gestured toward him. "I mean, the way I act with you is the way I should be able to act with him," she said quietly. "I can be myself when I'm hanging out with you. You know me better than he does, you know more about me - you were the one who was there when I was growing up."  
  
Luke shrugged and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Oh, well, I'm sure he wanted to - "  
  
"No, he didn't," Rory interrupted, shaking her head. "He could've if he wanted to, but he didn't." Rory stared down at the table for a few seconds, then brought her gaze back up to Luke. "I mean, sometimes it seems like he's trying too hard to recreate what I have with Mom, you know?"  
  
Luke nodded.  
  
"And. . .I don't know, sometimes I just feel like holding up a sign that says 'Never gonna happen' or something because there's no way he can have something like that." Rory shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to unload all of this on you."  
  
Luke shook his head. "I don't mind at all. Say what you need to say, get it off your chest."  
  
Rory gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks." She took a sip of soda, then said, "I mean, I know he's my dad, and I love him and all. . .but as much as he aspires to have that casual, sarcastic parent/daughter relationship like me and Mom have, he's never gonna get there. It's like he thinks I'm gonna say, 'Hey, you know how you practically abandoned me for the first fifteen years of my life? Well, since you took me to that play last night, all is forgotten.'" Rory scoffed. "I mean, it doesn't work like that."  
  
"Yeah, it must be tough," Luke said, nodding understandably. "I mean, for you having to always try to push those thoughts aside and focus on the moment."  
  
"Yeah, sometimes it is," Rory said, nodding. Their conversation was interrupted by the waiter bringing their food, and they were quiet for a few minutes while they settled into eating. Finally, Rory looked up and said, "Luke?"  
  
Luke looked up from his plate. "Huh?"  
  
She glanced down at her food and stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork. "I've never said this to you before but. . ."  
  
"Yeah?" he prompted.  
  
She placed the piece of chicken in her mouth and chewed it slowly, then said, "I've always thought of you as. . .you know, a father-figure type of person."  
  
Luke smiled shyly. "Oh yeah?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Yeah. . .you know, you were the one guy who was always there when I was growing up. I mean, granted it might not have been that way if you didn't make the best coffee and burgers in town," she added with a laugh. "But that's how it turned out, so. . .you know, you were always around. You . . .well, you were always more like a dad than my real dad was . . .and now that you're with Mom, it makes it seem even more like that." She paused a moment, then asked, "I'm sorry, does that freak you out to have me say that?"  
  
Luke smiled. "No, not at all," he said, shaking his head. "Uh, the feeling's mutual."  
  
Rory smiled. "Oh yeah? You think of me as a father-figure type of person?" she teased.  
  
"No, I meant that. . ."  
  
"You've had visions of me taking you to the park and buying you ice cream just like I used to have of you?" Rory asked. "Did you want me to buy you a pony, too?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and sighed. "You are your mother's daughter."  
  
Rory smiled. "I know."  
  
Luke shoved a forkful of salad into his mouth. "It ain't a bad trait to have."  
  
Rory nodded and ate a few bites of her food. She smiled to herself, then said, "While we're on the subject. . .what's the deal with you two?"  
  
Luke stopped in mid-chewing and brought his gaze up to her. "What do you mean?" he asked, his mouth full of salad. He swallowed it down and took a sip of tea.  
  
"Oh, I think you know what I mean," Rory said, smiling. "You guys are living together, all seems well. . .what happens next?"  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "Did she put you up to this?"  
  
"What?" Surprised, Rory shook her head. "No, not at all."  
  
Luke sighed softly. "I don't know. . .we just need more time."  
  
"We. . .or you?" Rory asked hesitantly.  
  
"We," Luke reiterated. "It's definitely we. We've talked about it very briefly, and it's a mutual feeling that we don't wanna rush into anything."  
  
"But do you. . ." Rory started. She paused and shook her head. "Never mind, it's none of my business, I'm sorry."  
  
"What?" Luke asked.  
  
"Nah, I don't wanna pry," Rory said.  
  
"It can't hurt to ask. If I think you're prying, I just won't answer," Luke said with a shrug.  
  
"Okay," Rory said. She took a deep breath, then asked, "Uh, the thing that you don't want to rush into. . .do you think you want it to happen. . .eventually?"  
  
Luke's face tightened. He nervously stared down at his plate and began pushing his food around aimlessly with his fork. Rory stared at him for almost thirty seconds before she finally decided that he wasn't going to answer. Slightly embarrassed, she muttered, "I'm sorry" and went back to eating.  
  
Luke finally looked up from his plate. Rory stopped eating and stared at him expectantly. He swallowed hard before he slowly nodded. "Yes."  
  
A slow smile appeared on Rory's face and she tilted her head. "You do? Really?"  
  
"Eventually," he said firmly. "That doesn't mean soon. That means eventually, like . . .you know, eventually."  
  
Rory smiled. "Eventually, yes, I get it." She rubbed her hands together. "Oh my God, that's so exciting!"  
  
"Rory, do not mention this to your mother," Luke said sternly. "I don't want her getting all anxious or nervous or anything, okay? I don't know how long eventually will end up being."  
  
Rory nodded. "My lips are sealed. We never had this conversation."  
  
"Thank you." Luke took a sip of tea, then continued eating.  
  
They ate quietly for a few minutes before Rory said, "Luke?"  
  
He looked up. "What?"  
  
"I just want you to know that. . .I'm glad it's gonna happen eventually," Rory said quietly. "I mean, you and her. . .it just seems right."  
  
Luke smiled and nodded, then went back to eating his salad.  
  
* * *  
  
Fifteen minutes later, they walked out of the restaurant and climbed into the Jeep.  
  
"Thanks for dinner," Rory said.  
  
"You're welcome," Luke replied as he started the car.  
  
"Uh, would you mind dropping me off at Dean's?" Rory asked. "He doesn't know I'm home yet."  
  
"Oh, sure, yeah," Luke replied. They drove silently toward Peach Street, and as Luke pulled up in front of the house, he said, "Here you go."  
  
Rory pushed open her door. "Thanks Luke," she said as she climbed out. "Bye."  
  
"Bye." Luke smiled as she waved and shut the door. He watched her walk up to the house and knock on the front door. Someone answered, and as she disappeared into the house, he pulled away.  
  
* * *  
  
A few minutes later, he arrived home and found Lorelai asleep on the couch. He picked up her feet from the cushion and sat down, then rested them on his lap. He grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned the television on.  
  
Almost twenty minutes later, Lorelai stirred slightly and opened her eyes. She blinked a few times before she glanced over at Luke. "Hey."  
  
Luke turned toward her and smiled. "Hi."  
  
She rubbed her eyes as she sat up. "Where'd you guys go for dinner?"  
  
"Teriyaki Joe's," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai gave a surprised smile. "Wow, how'd she talk you into that?"  
  
"She has her mother's pout," Luke grumbled, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai laughed quietly. "Yeah, I've told her that pout's all she needs to get through life."  
  
"Yeah, well, she's got it down," Luke said. He turned off the television. "How ya feeling?"  
  
"Hungry," she moaned. She slowly stood up from the couch.  
  
"Where are you going?" Luke asked, standing up with her.  
  
"Bathroom. Can you heat me up some more of Sookie's soup?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah, sure," Luke said. He walked toward the kitchen as Lorelai walked slowly toward the bathroom.  
  
A few minutes later, she walked into the kitchen, her arms folded across her chest as she shivered. "Man, it's cold in here."  
  
Luke set the bowl of soup down on the table. "Here, come eat. Or do you want it in the living room?"  
  
She walked toward the table. "No, this is fine, thanks." She sat down and glanced at Rory's darkened bedroom. "Is Rory here?"  
  
"Uh, no, I dropped her off at Dean's."  
  
Lorelai nodded and inhaled the aroma of the soup. "Mm, this is awesome soup. Have you tried it?"  
  
"No, but if Sookie made it, I'm sure it's great," Luke replied. He poured her a glass of iced tea and set it in front of her, then sat down with her.  
  
"Mmhmm." She ate a spoonful of soup, then sat back in her chair and smiled at him. "So. . ."  
  
"So. . .what?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai leaned toward him and rested her elbows on the table. "You're so cute."  
  
"I know," he replied.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I don't mean physically."  
  
Luke frowned. "Thanks," he said dryly.  
  
Lorelai laughed and grabbed his hand. "No, no, I mean you are, but that's not what I meant! I just meant, you're so cute how you've been taking care of me all day." She kissed his hand and smiled at him. "Thank you."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Yeah, well. . .you're welcome. I just want you to feel better."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "And I do, much better than this morning. There's still a little pain in my stomach, but I'm not nauseous anymore."  
  
"Yeah, that pain'll probably be there for another day or two," Luke said. "It's from throwing up."  
  
"But I only threw up once."  
  
"I know, but when you did, it irritated the actual muscles of the stomach, so it'll take some time for them to get back to normal," Luke explained.  
  
Lorelai shook her head slightly. "Thank you, Doctor Danes." She smiled and raised her eyebrows. "Mm, there's a nice little role playing idea. You're the doctor, I'm the patient. . .could be fun."  
  
"Could be," he agreed. "If we were six years old."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Oh, trust me, it'll be fun. And as soon as my womanly duties are over, I'll show you."  
  
"Mmhmm." He stood up and walked over to the refrigerator. He pulled it open and said, "We need to go shopping soon."  
  
"Make a list," Lorelai said. "Ooh, you know what, actually, grab a pad and pen. We need to start working on the menu for the shower."  
  
Luke closed the refrigerator and pulled open the junk drawer. He rummaged around until he found a notepad and a pen, then he sat back down at the table.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, the alarm woke Lorelai up out of a sound sleep and she groaned loudly as she shut it off. She nudged Luke with her elbow. "Time to get up," she muttered.  
  
"I know, I heard," he replied groggily. He slowly sat up and pushed the covers off of him. "You going into work today?"  
  
She rolled over onto her back. "Yeah, I think so. I don't feel sick except for this little pain right here," she said, patting the side of her stomach. "Which you've informed me is a physical pain and not because of sickness."  
  
"Yeah, it's the actual stomach muscle that's aggravated," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and held up her hand for him to stop. "Don't go into it again. You explained it three different times last night. Rory and I are both now thoroughly aware of how throwing up affects our internal organs. . .which, I must say, was a successful deterrent from us becoming bulimic."  
  
"Okay, okay, I won't mention it again," Luke said. He climbed out of bed and walked over to the door. "I'm gonna go take a shower," he said, gesturing toward the bathroom. She nodded. He stared at her for a few seconds, then gestured to the bathroom again. "I'm gonna go take a shower," he repeated.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Oh, sorry, was that an invitation?"  
  
"Yes, it was. Are you accepting it?"  
  
"Yes, I am," she replied. She threw the covers off and climbed out of bed, then grabbed her robe and followed him to the bathroom.  
  
* * *  
  
Forty-five minutes later, Luke had left for the diner and Lorelai was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. Rory's bedroom door opened and she walked out in her pajamas. "Hey."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Hey you."  
  
Rory slid into the seat across from Lorelai and rubbed her eyes. "So, you look better."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I think it was just a twenty-four hour bug or something. Now the only pain is the - "  
  
"The stomach muscles. . .yeah, I remember," Rory said, making a face.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I told him that we've heard the story quite enough."  
  
"Where is he? Did he go to work already?" Rory asked, glancing toward the living room.  
  
"Yup. I'm gonna head to the diner for breakfast soon if you wanna come," Lorelai said.  
  
"Oh, yeah, that sounds good," Rory said. "I just need to take a quick shower."  
  
"Okay, hurry up," Lorelai urged. Rory walked into her bedroom and grabbed some clothes, then went to take a shower.  
  
Half an hour later, they both walked out the front door. Babette was on her front porch watering her flowers, and she looked over when she heard a door slam. She set the watering can down and rushed off her porch, calling, "Lorelai! Hold on there, doll!"  
  
Lorelai and Rory stopped in the middle of their yard as Babette hurried over to them. "How are ya, honey? Feeling better?"  
  
"Oh, yeah, I'm much better, thanks," Lorelai replied.  
  
Babette smiled and put her hand on Lorelai's stomach. "Luke told me you had stomach pains and a nauseous feeling - you know what that means!"  
  
Lorelai glanced down at Babette's hand and narrowed her eyes. "Uh, no, what does that mean?"  
  
"It means that someone's got a bun in the oven!" Babette exclaimed. She clasped her hands together. "Oh God, this is so exciting! I knew this would happen one day!"  
  
Rory's eyes widened. "What?" She looked at Lorelai expectantly. "Mom?"  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Babette! It doesn't mean that!" She turned to Rory and rolled her eyes. "It doesn't mean that, hon. I'm not pregnant. And people shouldn't be spreading that rumor," she said loudly, jerking her head back to Babette. "Right?"  
  
Babette frowned. "You mean there's no. . ." She gestured to Lorelai's stomach.  
  
"There's practically nothing in there but Sookie's homemade soup, Babette," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Bye."  
  
With a disappointed look on her face, Babette muttered, "Bye" and walked toward her house.  
  
Lorelai put her arm around Rory and led her toward the car. "Can you believe that? Geez." They climbed into the Jeep and drove to the diner. They parked across the street near the gazebo, and as they climbed out, they noticed Patty walking toward them, waving excitedly. "Lorelai, hello!"  
  
Lorelai and Rory stood on the sidewalk as Patty walked over. "Hey Patty," Lorelai said. "What's up?"  
  
"Well, a little bird told me that maybe you're getting a new addition to the house, and I'm not talking about construction work," Patty said with wide eyes. "Oh, I couldn't believe it!"  
  
Lorelai groaned. "And would the little bird happen to go by the name Babette?"  
  
"Oh, dear, I never reveal my sources," Patty said slyly. She rubbed her hands together excitedly and said, "So, how far along are you?"  
  
As Lorelai scoffed loudly, Rory rolled her eyes and said, "It's not true, Patty." She grabbed Lorelai's hand and pulled her toward the diner. Patty stared after them looking confused.  
  
As they walked toward the diner, Kirk walked out and took a few steps toward them. "Oh, Lorelai, good. I wanted to know - "  
  
Lorelai held up both of her hands. "Kirk, if you say something regarding the false rumor that I'm pregnant, I will have Luke out here in ten seconds to put you in a headlock!"  
  
With wide-eyes, Kirk backed away from her. "I just wanted to know if you wanted me to bring anything to Sookie's shower, but. . .I'll check back with you later." He turned around and ran down the street.  
  
Lorelai sighed and turned to Rory. "Oops."  
  
Rory patted her on the back. "Forget about it. Let's go in."  
  
As they walked into the diner, several people looked at them and started whispering. They sat down at a table and Luke immediately walked over to them. "Okay, four people have come up and congratulated me this morning," Luke said. "You wanna tell me why the hell that is?"  
  
Lorelai covered her face with her hands. "Oh God," she muttered.  
  
"Somehow a rumor got started that. . . .Mom's pregnant," Rory said.  
  
"Which isn't true," Lorelai added, staring up at Luke.  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes. "How did it get started?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "You mentioned to Babette that I had stomach problems, and she interpreted it differently than you had intended her to."  
  
Luke sighed. "Great, this is what I get for talking to people."  
  
"It doesn't matter, we know it's not true," Lorelai said. "If they don't believe us now, when they realize, as the weeks go by, that I'm not getting any bigger, it'll tip them off that it was just a rumor."  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Luke said, glancing around at the other customers. "Though, right now it seems like everyone in here is staring at us and wondering what kind of baby presents to buy us."  
  
"Yeah, well, we could go along with the rumor, get a bunch of presents, return them all, and then keep the money. What do you say?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I don't think so," Luke replied.  
  
"Okay, well, then just forget them and bring us two stacks of your fluffiest pancakes, please," Lorelai said.  
  
"With bacon," Rory added.  
  
"And coffee," Lorelai said. "As fast as humanly possible." She clapped her hands quickly and added, "Chop chop! Quick, hurry, come on, run! We're hungry!"  
  
Luke glared at her with a stern face. Lorelai frowned and sank back against her chair. "Sorry, take your time." Luke smirked and walked toward the kitchen.  
  
Rory smiled at Lorelai. "What was that? You never succumb to his looks, it's always the other way around."  
  
"Yeah, well, let me explain a little something to you about relationships," Lorelai said.  
  
"I'm listening intently," Rory replied.  
  
"Well, an important part of any relationship is letting the other person think they have some control," Lorelai explained. "Now, by occasionally succumbing to his stern looks and letting him think that he has a little power in the relationship, it keeps him happy yet still enables me to maintain my own power."  
  
"Ah," Rory said knowingly.  
  
"Get it?"  
  
"Got it. You're very wise," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Yeah, well, you live and learn."  
  
* * *  
  
The next afternoon, Lorelai walked into the almost-empty diner, nodding hello toward the other two customers. She walked over and tapped her hands on the counter a few times as she called, "Luke, are you back there?"  
  
A few seconds later, Luke walked out of the kitchen with a dishtowel draped over his shoulder. "Hey. What's up?"  
  
"I need the checkbook," Lorelai said. "I have to go to Weston's and order some stuff for the shower."  
  
"It's outside in the truck," he replied.  
  
"Okay, thanks." Lorelai smiled and pointed to the specials' board. "You can probably erase that now. I think the rumor's officially dead."  
  
Luke glanced up at the sign, which said, 'No, she's not pregnant' in large block letters. "Yeah, well, just to make sure, I'll leave it up for the rest of the day and take it down before I come home."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay. I'll see you after Friday night dinner."  
  
"Have fun," Luke teased.  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Sure you don't wanna come with us?"  
  
"No thanks," he replied. He leaned across the counter and kissed her. "Bye."  
  
"Bye." Lorelai turned around and walked out of the diner.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, at the Gilmore mansion, Lorelai and Rory sat in the living room sipping their drinks while Emily took Richard a drink in his study. When she returned, she poured herself a glass of wine and sat down across from the girls with a sigh.  
  
"Uh, something wrong, Mom?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Emily glanced toward the hallway. "Well, with your father starting up his own firm and everything, he's just been so busy lately. I mean, I hardly see the man anymore. I call him for a meal, we eat, and then he goes right back into that study."  
  
"Aw, Mom, he's just busy getting everything together," Lorelai said. "I'm sure once the firm gets settled, he won't be quite as busy. It's just. . .the whole process of getting it started is probably a lot of work."  
  
Emily nodded. "I know, you're probably right. . . I just wish he'd realize that Friday nights are the only time we get to see you girls, and it would be more appropriate for him to put his work aside for one night and come out here and talk to you."  
  
"We'll talk at dinner, Mom, it's no big deal," Lorelai said with a shrug.  
  
"He won't even be here next week," Emily said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Where will he be?" Rory asked.  
  
"Oh, at some insurance seminar in Albany," Emily said. "It's a weekend conference, he's leaving on Friday morning." She took a sip of her wine and sighed. "I didn't expect him to be so busy so quickly. I mean, he's already starting his business trips, which means once again I'll be here all alone for days at a time. You know, I was just starting to get used to having him around."  
  
Lorelai and Rory frowned at each other, both of them feeling sorry for how despondent Emily sounded. Lorelai thought for a moment, then cleared her throat and said, "Uh, Mom, you know, next Saturday we're having Sookie's surprise wedding shower at our house."  
  
"Oh really?" Emily asked.  
  
"Yeah, it should be a lot of fun," Lorelai said. "Maybe you could stop by?"  
  
Rory glanced at Lorelai and widened her eyes with surprise. She looked toward Emily and said, "Yeah, Grandma, it'll be fun. That way you won't have to spend Saturday night here all alone."  
  
"Oh, no, I couldn't," Emily replied. "That wouldn't be appropriate."  
  
"Why not? Sookie knows you," Lorelai said. "She'd love to see you there."  
  
"I don't think - " Emily started.  
  
"And it's not gonna be one of those formal showers where it's just all women sitting around drinking tea and stuff," Lorelai explained. "It'll just be like a regular party."  
  
"A regular party?" Emily asked.  
  
"It'll be fun, Grandma," Rory said. "You should definitely come. Plus, you haven't been to our house in awhile."  
  
"No, I haven't," Emily said. "And it's a very rare occasion that I'm invited, so I might as well take advantage of every opportunity that I get."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes toward Rory, then turned back to Emily. "So you'll come?"  
  
Emily thought it over for a moment, then smiled. "Why not?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Good."  
  
"Thank you for inviting me," Emily replied. She took a sip of wine, then asked, "When is the wedding anyway?"  
  
"Oh, a few weeks," Lorelai replied.  
  
"A few weeks?" Emily asked, surprised. "And you're just throwing the shower now? Showers are supposed to be held several months before the wedding. That is the traditional - "  
  
Lorelai held up her hands. "Mom, since when do I do things traditionally?"  
  
Emily rolled her eyes. "Good point."  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Luke was sitting on the couch watching television when the front door opened.  
  
"Ugh, why didn't you slap me!" Lorelai exclaimed as she walked through the door. "Why didn't you grab me by the shoulders and shake me and say, 'Mom, don't you realize what you just said? Stop now, woman! Stop before someone gets hurt!' But no, you only added to the insanity and supported my suggestion!"  
  
"I'm sorry, I thought you were being sincere," Rory said as she followed Lorelai into the living room.  
  
"What's going on?" Luke asked as he muted the television.  
  
Lorelai sighed loudly. "Luke, I just did the worst possible thing in the entire world." She collapsed onto the couch next to him.  
  
"You're being a tad dramatic," Rory said.  
  
"What happened?" Luke asked.  
  
"She invited my Grandma to Sookie's shower," Rory told him. She walked over to the armchair and sat down.  
  
Lorelai groaned loudly. "No, don't keep saying it! Maybe if we don't talk about it, it'll turn out that it never happened, that it was just a figment of our imaginations!" She covered her face with her hands and leaned against Luke's shoulder.  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at Lorelai, then looked over at Rory. "So, uh, why'd she do this?"  
  
"Because she felt bad that my Grandma was sad about my Grandpa working so much," Rory explained. "And then my Grandma mentioned that she would be home alone next weekend, so Mom - "  
  
"I plead temporary insanity!" Lorelai interrupted.  
  
" - invited her to the shower," Rory finished. "You did a nice thing, Mom."  
  
"Yeah, I bet your mom appreciates it," Luke said, rubbing Lorelai's back. "Don't worry about it."  
  
"How can I not worry about it? She'll be here. . .in my house. . .criticizing everything I say and do," Lorelai said, making a face.  
  
"Look, you'll probably be so wrapped up in the whole 'hosting the shower' duties that you won't even notice that she's here," Luke said. "And if she gets too annoying, we'll just sit her down with Patty and Babette. They'll keep her busy for awhile."  
  
Lorelai giggled softly. "Oh, I can just imagine the look on her face after listening to them talk for a few minutes." She leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. "Maybe she won't stay too long."  
  
"Right, maybe she'll get here, see that it's not her type of party, and then leave after a few minutes, in which case all this worrying would've been for nothing," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai shrugged as she stood up. "Okay, maybe I'm overreacting."  
  
"Yeah, and that's totally unlike you," Rory said sarcastically.  
  
Lorelai stuck her tongue out at her before she walked toward the kitchen. "Who wants a drink?"  
  
"Soda, please," Rory called.  
  
"Coming up. Luke?" Lorelai called from the kitchen.  
  
"No, thanks," he called back. He nodded toward Rory. "Hey, check out what I rented tonight." He picked up a DVD from the coffee table and tossed it to her.  
  
Rory caught it and read the cover. "Oh cool, can we watch it now?"  
  
"Yup, I was waiting for you guys to get home," Luke replied.  
  
"Mom, make some popcorn!" Rory called as she put the DVD in the player.  
  
"Okay!" Lorelai called.  
  
"I'm gonna go change first," Rory told Luke as she walked toward her bedroom. Lorelai was setting the bag of popcorn into the microwave as Rory walked into the kitchen. "Luke rented Ocean's 11. We're gonna watch it now."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Man, does he have good taste or what?"  
  
"Yes, he does," Rory agreed. "I'm gonna go get changed."  
  
"Okay. I'll get your soda, can you grab the popcorn on your way back?" Lorelai asked. Rory nodded as she walked into her room and shut the door behind her. Lorelai grabbed two cans of soda from the fridge and brought them into the living room. She set them on the coffee table, then stood in front of Luke.  
  
She stared at him for a few seconds before she straddled his lap and kissed him. He smiled through the kiss. "Hi."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Hey." She leaned forward and kissed him again. His hands moved up and down her sides as he kissed her back hungrily. She pulled back and stroked his sideburns. "I'm gonna go change into my pajamas."  
  
"Okay." He kissed her one last time before she pushed herself off of him and walked toward the staircase. "Oh, hey?"  
  
Lorelai turned around. "Yeah?"  
  
Luke shifted slightly in his seat and said, "Uh, you remember Kathy?"  
  
"Kathy. . .you mean 'I'm the girl who stole your virginity' Kathy?" Lorelai asked, smiling.  
  
"That's the one," Luke said.  
  
"What about her?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Uh, she called the diner tonight and asked about us getting that cup of coffee soon," Luke said.  
  
"She called the diner? What, she got tired of waiting for you to call her?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke shrugged. "I guess. . .but we're getting together on Sunday."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Luke stared at her for a moment. "You're okay with that, right?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Absolutely. I mean, you weren't planning on having an affair, right?"  
  
"No," Luke replied. He shrugged and added, "Not with her, anyway."  
  
Lorelai smirked. "Funny."  
  
Luke smiled. "Kidding. So. . . you're cool with it?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Yeah." She lingered on the bottom step for a moment before she gestured upstairs. "Uh, I'm gonna go get changed." Luke nodded as Lorelai turned around and climbed the steps to their bedroom.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 43  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when Luke walked in. As she finished up, he stood behind her and watched her in the mirror. She rinsed her mouth, then stared back at his reflection questioningly. "What's up?"  
  
"You didn't say much during the movie," Luke commented.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I was just concentrating on watching it."  
  
"You weren't being your normal commentator-ish self," he said as he put his hands on her shoulders. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing's wrong," she replied. "I'm fine."  
  
"Lorelai," Luke said sternly.  
  
"Luke," Lorelai said, mocking his tone. She turned around to face him. "Nothing's wrong. . . I was just thinking about stuff."  
  
"Stuff. . .what kind of stuff?" Luke asked.  
  
Not wanting to tell him that she was thinking about his upcoming get together with Kathy, Lorelai glanced down at the ground. "Just. . . I don't know. . .stuff."  
  
Luke stared at her for a moment before he sighed. "Oh, I get it."  
  
Lorelai looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. "You know what I'm thinking about?"  
  
"Yes, and you have to stop worrying about it," Luke said. "It's no big deal."  
  
Lorelai grimaced as she walked out of the bathroom. "I just don't know why I'm letting her get to me."  
  
"I know," Luke replied, nodding understandably. He followed her into the bedroom. "But it's too late to do anything about it now. Just forget it, it'll be over before you know it."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I know."  
  
"And who knows? Maybe she'll end up having a good time and something will click between you two and then you guys can get together more often," Luke said hopefully.  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "What?"  
  
"Yeah. I mean, wouldn't it be nice to be able to invite her over for dinner or something?" Luke asked. "I think it'd be good if you guys got along better. . .you know, without you getting so nervous and antsy."  
  
Lorelai shook her head slightly in disbelief. "What?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Yeah, I mean, I'd like for you guys to be able to be in the same room together without a fight. And it'd probably be a lot easier for Rory, too."  
  
Confused, Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "What does Rory have to do with any of this?"  
  
"Well, I just think that Rory should be able to be around her without feeling like you're going to explode at any minute," Luke said. "I know she probably wants to spend more time with Rory than she already does."  
  
Lorelai stared at him with a look of shock. "Luke, what the hell are you talking about?"  
  
Luke took a step back from her. "Why. . .what do you think I'm talking about?"  
  
"I think you're talking about Kathy . . .and if you are, you've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do," Lorelai said loudly. "Like, uh, why she's spending time with Rory!"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I was talking about your mother!"  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes with confusion. "My mother?"  
  
"Yes, your mother," Luke repeated loudly. "Isn't that what was bothering you tonight? Her coming to the shower?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, that's not the stuff I was thinking about! I was thinking about. . ." Her voice trailed off.  
  
"Kathy," Luke said with an annoyed sigh.  
  
"Kathy," she muttered as she sat down on the edge of the bed.  
  
Luke groaned. "I thought we were past this, Lorelai. You said that you were fine with me getting together with her. You said you were okay with it, you were cool, it's no big deal."  
  
"I know that's what I said," Lorelai retorted. "You think I can't remember what I said just a few hours ago?"  
  
"Obviously not since you're acting the complete opposite of how a person who said that would act!" he yelled.  
  
Lorelai jumped up off the bed. "Don't yell at me!" she yelled back. "It's not my fault this bothers me! I can't help it!"  
  
"Yes, you can!"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Oh really? How?"  
  
"You can get it through your stubborn head that me having coffee with another woman is not a big freakin' deal!" Luke said loudly.  
  
"Well, it is to me!" she yelled.  
  
"Why!"  
  
"I don't know!"  
  
Luke threw his hands up in frustration. "If you don't know, then how can we do anything to fix it?"  
  
"I don't know that either!" Lorelai yelled.  
  
"Well, if you don't have enough trust in me to feel comfortable when I talk to other women, then maybe we need to sit down and have a little chat!" Luke yelled. He shook his head slightly. "And where the hell did this sudden jealousy thing come from anyway? What, are you gonna flip out every time I talk to Sookie now? Or Patty or Babette or Margie the bank teller? Should I turn the diner into a 'Male Customers Only' diner, will that make you feel better?"  
  
Lorelai groaned loudly. "Stop it!"  
  
Luke's face was reddening as he continued, "No, wait - maybe you can make me a list of the women I can and cannot talk to, and I can carry it around with me and check it every time a person of the opposite sex is walking my way!"  
  
"UGH! Stop being a jerk about this!" Lorelai yelled. She let out an exasperated sigh before she sat down on the bed and buried her face in her hands. Luke walked over to the window and stared out into the yard. They were both silent for several minutes, both of them breathing heavily as they tried to control their emotions.  
  
Finally, Luke turned around and looked at her. She was leaning forward with her hands still covering her face. Luke exhaled loudly and walked over to her.  
  
As he sat down next to her, she removed her hands from her face and folded her arms across her chest. Luke swallowed hard before he cleared his throat and said, "Look, I'm sorry. . .for getting all worked up and yelling and everything."  
  
Lorelai was silent for a few seconds before she said quietly, "Yeah, well, I'm sorry for acting like some psychotic girlfriend who's trying to control who you talk to." She turned to him and shook her head. "That's not me. . .I don't know where that's coming from."  
  
Luke took a deep breath. "Look, just tell me what it is. Is it. . .that you don't trust me? I mean, I don't think I've given you a reason not to, but if that's what it is, then we should talk about that."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "That's not it."  
  
Luke shrugged. "So, then, what is it? Is the fact that I moved into your house not enough of a clue that I love you and that I'm . . . committed to you?"  
  
She shook her head again and sighed loudly. "I seriously don't know what it is. Just. . .picturing you going out with this strange woman - a woman who you have a history with - it just makes me feel. . .uneasy."  
  
"Uneasy," he repeated.  
  
"Yes, uneasy." Lorelai stood up and paced back and forth in front of him. "And I don't know why because . . . I trust you, I love you, I know you love me, I know you'd never do anything to hurt me. . .I know all of this, yet I still find myself feeling uneasy about you going out with her." She sighed loudly and started biting her thumbnail nervously. "I don't know what this feeling is from."  
  
Luke reached for her arm and pulled her toward him. As she stood directly in front of him, he put his hands on her waist and looked up at her. "Well, try to figure it out so we can deal with it."  
  
Lorelai put her hands on his shoulders and closed her eyes for a moment. "I guess, maybe. . ." She opened her eyes and stared into his as she spoke quickly, "Maybe there's a tiny part of me that's realizing how important you are to me, and how I'm so in love with you and how, if I find you so incredible, then there are other people out there who might realize how great you are, too. . .and I just don't want one of them to catch your eye and . . ." She paused and swallowed hard before she finished, ". . .you know, take you away from me. Sounds stupid and petty and jealous, I know, but - "  
  
"I feel like that sometimes, too," he interrupted quietly.  
  
She raised her eyebrows. "You do?"  
  
"Sure." Luke reached up and pushed her hair behind her ears. "I mean, trust me, some guys out there would do anything to get someone like you. And as much as I trust you, sometimes I get a little nervous because I know what other guys are like."  
  
"But I don't want another guy. . .I only want you," Lorelai insisted.  
  
"Ditto," he replied.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I'm glad to hear that you don't want another guy. . .now I can narrow my worries down to just the female population."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."  
  
Lorelai smiled and leaned down to kiss him. Luke pulled back and continued, "Which is why you have nothing to worry about with me hanging out with some other girl. I mean, you just said yourself that you know I'd never hurt you."  
  
"I know."  
  
"You said that you trust me," Luke reminded her.  
  
"I do," Lorelai said firmly. "I absolutely do." She bit her bottom lip for a moment, then said, "I just. . .now that I'm thinking about it. . .I think the uneasy feeling isn't so much a 'me questioning my trust in you' thing as it is a 'me not having confidence in myself' kind of thing. It's like, part of me is all, 'Wow, how did I get this great guy? There must be a mistake. He'll come to his senses one day and realize that I'm not the perfect girl he thinks I am.' You know what I mean? And that's why you going out with some other girl. . .well, it scares me."  
  
Luke closed his eyes and leaned his head against her stomach. "I can't believe you just said that," he whispered too quietly for her to hear. He pulled back and stared up at her. "I'm gonna make this short and sweet - you are the absolute last person in this world who should feel like that. There's no one out there better than you, do you hear me?"  
  
As a smile slowly appeared on her lips, Lorelai nodded. "I hear you, Captain."  
  
Luke smiled. "Good." He ran his hands up and down her arms. "There. . .uneasy feeling gone?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Completely. I think we scared it away."  
  
"Good." Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. As she hugged him back, he leaned backwards and they fell onto the bed.  
  
"Luke!" she exclaimed, giggling. She sat up and straddled his stomach, and they smiled at each other. "Luke, we're due for some major makeup sex after a fight like that."  
  
"Yes, we are," he agreed. He began unbuttoning her pajama top, but Lorelai put her hands on top of his and shook her head.  
  
"Not tonight, though," Lorelai said. "Maybe tomorrow night."  
  
Luke grimaced and pulled his hands back. "Right, I forgot." He sighed. "You know, it's better when you do it right after the fight. We really have to schedule them better so they don't coincide with your. . .uh, thing."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Actually, I'm thinking that my 'uh, thing'. . .or rather, the crabbiness that accompanies it. . .will be a big factor of many future fights, so get used to them coinciding with it."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Great."  
  
Lorelai giggled at his disappointed look. "Aw, look at you being all sad and pouty."  
  
"I'm not being pouty," he said dryly. "I'm just tired."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Aw, and I was just gonna suggest that we alleviate some of our sexual tension by having some 'makeup foreplay'. . .but I guess you're too tired," she said sadly. Luke smiled and immediately brought his hands back up to unbutton her shirt. Lorelai laughed. "I thought you might go for that."  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai walked into the kitchen as Rory was pouring some coffee at the counter. "Morning," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hey Mom." Rory handed her a cup of coffee and Lorelai sat down at the table. As Rory poured another cup, she asked, "Uh. . . was everything okay last night? I heard yelling."  
  
Lorelai grimaced. "Ooh, sorry, did we wake you?"  
  
"No, I wasn't asleep yet," Rory replied. "Uh, but . . .is everything okay?"  
  
"Yeah, we had a little argument, everything's good now," Lorelai assured her.  
  
Rory nodded. "Good, I was worried." She sat down across from Lorelai. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"  
  
"Food shopping," Lorelai said. "But first I wanna go to the mall and get some new clothes, maybe a new dress for the shower. Hm, let's see. . .I've got a passenger seat in the car that's begging to be used. . .any takers?"  
  
Rory raised her hand in the air and waved it around. "Me, me, pick me!"  
  
Lorelai smiled and pointed to her. "Okay, little girl, you win a free ride to the mall. . .and if you're really good, I'll give you a ride home, too."  
  
"You're too kind," Rory replied.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Lorelai and Rory rushed into the diner laughing. They shut the door behind them, then stared out the window through the blinds. "Did he go inside yet?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I don't think so," Rory replied.  
  
Luke walked up behind them. "Okay, what did you do?" he asked accusingly.  
  
They both turned around, and Lorelai gasped. "What makes you think we did something?"  
  
"Because you look like you're hiding from the Mob in here, so why don't you just tell me what you did so when the police arrive I'll have an idea of why they're here," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai and Rory walked over to the counter and sat down. "We did nothing that would involve the police." Lorelai thought for a moment, then said, "At least I don't think so. It all depends on how mad Taylor gets."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes as he walked to the other side of the counter and stood across from them. "Spill it."  
  
Rory smiled. "Well, we're shopping at the market and all is nice and peaceful, but then Mom bumps into Taylor, and I don't know exactly how it happened, but they began arguing about Oreo cookies."  
  
"He actually told me that he likes the peanut butter and chocolate cream filled ones!" Lorelai exclaimed loudly. "Can you believe that?"  
  
Luke shook his head slightly. "Uh oh, he was asking for trouble."  
  
"I know!" Lorelai exclaimed, her eyes widening.  
  
Luke smiled and glanced past her, then said, "Hang on." He grabbed the coffeepot and made a quick lap around the room to refill some cups, then walked back over to them. "Go on."  
  
"So Mom was really peeved because . . .well, you know how she gets when people don't agree with her," Rory said. "So we're shopping and she's just babbling on and on about how mad Taylor made her and how she feels like doing something evil. And, finally, we make our way to the checkout line and she sees that Taylor is out front organizing his produce, and she suddenly gets this. . .bright idea."  
  
"Which was?" Luke asked hesitantly.  
  
"To rearrange all of his shelves," Lorelai said proudly. She giggled and added, "So if you're shopping later and you happen to find several boxes of tampons in the refrigerator with the dairy products, you'll know why."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh geez. And you, the responsible one in the family, actually helped her?" he asked Rory.  
  
"No way, I was just the lookout." Rory smiled. "Taylor's gonna flip out when he sees that the jars of jelly are no longer by the jars of peanut butter. He spends hours making sure that every item in that store is strategically placed in accordance to the other products around it."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "I know. He even has a little map drawn out of where everything should go, I've seen it before."  
  
"Did no one else in that store notice what you were doing?" Luke asked.  
  
"Probably, but because they know we're crazy, they tend to just smile and ignore us," Lorelai said.  
  
"It's what I try to do," Luke muttered.  
  
"Whew, all that hard work made me hungry," Lorelai said. "Coffee and a muffin, please."  
  
"Same here," Rory added.  
  
Luke poured some coffee and set the mugs in front of them, then turned around to get their muffins. While his back was turned, the door flew open and Taylor rushed into the diner. "Luke, have you seen - " he started. When he saw Lorelai at the counter, his eyes widened. "Aha, just who I'm looking for!"  
  
Lorelai turned around and grinned. "Oh, hey Taylor."  
  
"Don't you 'Oh, hey Taylor' me, young lady." He walked toward her, wagging his finger wildly. "I have several witnesses who saw what you did, Lorelai."  
  
As the other customers turned to see what the fuss was about, Lorelai jumped up from her stool, ran around the counter, and stood behind Luke. She wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "Protect me from the scary man in the cardigan."  
  
Luke held up his hands. "Okay, hold on here, Taylor."  
  
"Luke, do you have any idea what she did?" Taylor asked.  
  
"Yes, I know what she did," Luke replied.  
  
"There's no reason for her to cause chaos in my store just because we don't have the same taste in cookies!" Taylor exclaimed.  
  
"Well, she's very passionate about junk food, Taylor," Luke informed him.  
  
"Now, listen here, young lady. . ." Taylor started as he walked around the counter toward Lorelai.  
  
"Uh oh, Luke doesn't like people behind there," Rory warned him.  
  
"I'd listen to her, Taylor," Luke said, pursing his lips and folding his arms across his chest. Taylor paused a moment and stared at Luke's menacing scowl, then took a few steps back. "Wise move. Now, what exactly do you want? You found her, you made your point clear that you're unhappy with her. . now you can go back to your store and fix all of your shelves back to the way they were."  
  
Taylor folded his arms across his chest and glared at Lorelai. "Yes, that's where I'm going, but any more incidents like this, Missy, and you will be put on full surveillance for any and all future visits to the market."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Taylor, you desperately need to take a chill pill."  
  
"Excuse me?" Taylor replied.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Uh, forget it."  
  
"Hmph, well . . ." Taylor frowned and turned around. All of the customers watched as he walked out of the diner, and when the door closed behind him, Lorelai and Rory started laughing.  
  
"Oh my God," Rory laughed. "That was so the highlight of my week!"  
  
Lorelai patted Luke on the back. "Good job with the 'defending your woman' act there."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I have a feeling I'm gonna have to do that a lot."  
  
"You know, we never did buy our food, Mom," Rory said.  
  
"Well, we don't know where anything is now," Lorelai said. "We'll go back later when he's done fixing the shelves."  
  
"Good plan."  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Luke arrived home from the diner and found no one on the bottom floor. He climbed the steps up to the master bedroom, and found Lorelai and Rory both sitting on the bed. "Hey," he said, walking into the room. Rory was painting Lorelai's toenails and they both smiled as he walked in.  
  
"Hey Luke," Rory said.  
  
"Hey," Lorelai said as he leaned down and kissed her. "You're home earlier than I thought you'd be."  
  
"Yup." Luke glanced at the nail polish and made a face. "I've told you how much I hate that smell, haven't I?"  
  
"Yes, you have," Lorelai confirmed. "And the plan was to get this done and to have the room aired out before you got home, but like I mentioned just a few seconds ago, you're home earlier than expected."  
  
"Ah, so essentially the smelly room is my fault," Luke said as he walked over to his dresser.  
  
"Right," Lorelai replied.  
  
"How was work? Anything interesting happen?" Rory asked.  
  
Luke shrugged. "Nah, not much. Dropped some fries."  
  
"Bummer," Lorelai said.  
  
"It happens," Luke replied. He placed his wallet and watch on his dresser, then slipped off his shoes and sat down on the bed next to Lorelai.  
  
"Hey, you wanna just stick to painting the nail and not the entire toe, please?" Lorelai asked Rory, glancing down at her feet.  
  
"Sorry," Rory muttered. "You keep moving."  
  
"I checked in on Jess' apartment tonight," Luke said.  
  
"Oh yeah, how is it?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Pretty good," Luke replied. "It's a little cluttered, but . . .ya know, he's a kid - housecleaning probably isn't his top priority."  
  
"Right," Lorelai said. "I'm an adult and it ain't my top priority either."  
  
"We know," Rory muttered, and Lorelai made a face at her.  
  
"He's got food, though," Luke said. "Of course, it's food I'd never touch with a ten foot pole, but it's food nonetheless."  
  
"Ooh, sounds like it's yummy food, then," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows. "Now we know where to go get junk food when Taylor bans me from the market."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Which will probably be very soon."  
  
Lorelai waved him off. "Nah, Taylor wouldn't do that. He makes a ton of money off of us." She glanced toward the closet, then turned back to Luke. "You wanna see the dress I bought for the shower?"  
  
Luke shrugged.  
  
Lorelai smiled. She deepened her voice and said, "Yeah, sure, Lorelai, I'd love to see it, where is it?" In her normal voice, she responded, "Oh, I'm so glad you asked, Luke, because it's right there in the closet."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes as he climbed off the bed and walked over to the closet. He stared at the clothes for a few seconds before he shrugged and said, "Okay, there are like eighty dresses in here. You want me to guess which one is new or you wanna give me a hint?"  
  
"It's the strapless brown one with the cream colored flowers on it," Rory informed him as she continued on Lorelai's nails.  
  
Luke searched through the dresses until he found the one Rory had described. He pulled it out and held it up.  
  
"You like?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah, it's nice." Luke glanced at the tag hanging off the side of the dress. "Jesus, did you get the most expensive dress in the store?"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "A well-made dress is an investment, Luke. And that one was cheap compared to some of the other ones."  
  
Luke hung the dress back up. "What, were the other ones made out of diamonds?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You know nothing about dress-buying."  
  
"Which is something I'm proud of," Luke replied. He noticed that the television was on. "What are you watching?"  
  
Rory giggled. "Mom's new guilty pleasure."  
  
"Hey, you watch it too!" Lorelai exclaimed, smacking Rory on the arm. Rory's hand jerked and painted a line of nail polish down Lorelai's big toe. They both giggled and Lorelai said, "Oops."  
  
"This is not my finest work," Rory declared, staring down at Lorelai's toes. "We're gonna be doing a lot of touch up work with the nail polish remover."  
  
Luke was still watching the television. "So, what's this called?"  
  
"Sorority Life," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Luke, Mom is obsessed with these girls," Rory said. "Really, I suggest you find her a new hobby because this one is already becoming unhealthy."  
  
Luke walked over and sat down on the bed. "And why exactly are you obsessed with these girls?"  
  
"I don't know, I can't figure it out," Lorelai replied with a shrug. "And trust me, I'm definitely not one to support reality TV in any way, shape, or form, but this show. . .I don't know, it sucked me in." She hung her head and sighed. "I'm ashamed."  
  
"You should be," Rory said.  
  
"Shush, you," Lorelai said. "I think it might be because I never got to go away to college and do the whole sorority thing. . .not that I ever really wanted to, but it's sort of a peek at what I missed."  
  
Luke nodded. "Ah."  
  
"Not that I mind missing it," Lorelai said. "Trust me, I'd much rather have Rory than a bunch of alcoholic sorority sisters."  
  
"Glad to hear it," Rory replied.  
  
"Speaking of alcoholics, Candace better get some help soon," Lorelai said, turning to the television.  
  
Rory replaced the lid on the nail polish and announced, "Done."  
  
Lorelai glanced down at her toes. "Good, now go get the nail polish remover and make it look somewhat presentable, please."  
  
"Okay. I think it's in my room," Rory said. She stood up and walked out of the bedroom.  
  
Luke stood up and Lorelai asked, "Where are you going?"  
  
"To open the window because when she comes back with that other crap, it'll make the room smell even worse," he said. He opened the window, then walked toward the door. "I'm gonna go get something to eat. . ." He paused at the doorway and stared at her, biting his lip as if he wanted to ask something.  
  
"Yes?" Lorelai prompted him.  
  
He gestured toward the bed. "Uh, can we finally. . .are you. . .I mean, later. . . "  
  
Lorelai smiled and patted the bed. "Yes - me, you, right here, later tonight. Want a preview?" She lifted her shirt and flashed him, then pulled it back down and asked, "Will that hold you until then?" She hugged her knees to her chest and smiled at him.  
  
Luke smirked. "No, but it'll have to. Uh, you want anything from downstairs?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "I'm good, thanks."  
  
Luke nodded and walked out of the room, and Rory walked back in a few seconds later with the nail polish remover and some cotton balls. "Okay, let's clean this up."  
  
* * *  
  
On Sunday afternoon, Lorelai walked into the bedroom as Luke was changing. "What are you doing?" she asked.  
  
"What's it look like?" Luke replied.  
  
"It looks like you're changing," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Very astute observation," Luke replied.  
  
As he tucked in his T-shirt, Lorelai sat down on the bed. "So, where ya going?"  
  
"That little café near Bootsy's newsstand," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Oh, good coffee. . .but their muffins? They're the tiniest things in the world. . .four of them would equal one from the diner, I'm not kidding."  
  
"Well, then, good for me for having bigger muffins," Luke replied.  
  
"Ha, you said 'bigger muffins'." Lorelai giggled. "That sounded dirty."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Geez." He shoved his wallet into his back pocket, then walked over to the foot of the bed and stared at Lorelai. "I'm gonna get going now."  
  
Lorelai crawled down to the foot of the bed, then kneeled directly in front of him. Luke put his hands on her shoulders as he leaned in and kissed her. Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back passionately.  
  
Several seconds later, Luke pulled back from the deep kiss, then gave her three quick kisses before he smiled and said, "Okay, I gotta go."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay, have fun."  
  
"I'm gonna stop in at work for a little afterwards so I won't be back right away," Luke said. He rolled his eyes and added, "So if you wanna come bug me for details, that's where I'll be."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I can wait 'til you get home. It'll give me more time to prepare questions."  
  
* * *  
  
Several hours later, Luke walked through the front door while Lorelai was on the couch on the phone. Her eyes widened as he walked in, and she cut off Emily in mid-sentence. "Oh, look at that, Mom, Luke's home. I gotta go because he's a bit controlling and doesn't like me to be on the phone when he's around and if he sees me talking on it, he might beat me again." There was a brief pause, then Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mom, that was a joke. . . no, you're right, it wasn't funny. . .yeah, we'll talk tomorrow. . .bye." Lorelai groaned as she hung up the phone.  
  
Luke sat down next to her. "Thanks for making her think I abuse you," he said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"You're welcome," she replied. She smiled and patted his leg. "Okay, give me the scoop - what does she look like, what'd she wear, what's she do for a living, what'd you guys order, what'd you talk about, and did she try to seduce you? Answer in any order you see fit."  
  
Luke smiled and took a deep breath. "Let's see. . .about five foot five, blonde hair, green eyes. She was wearing a red shirt with a black skirt, and she - "  
  
"Ooh, wait, wait - were her legs better than mine?" Lorelai interrupted.  
  
Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know, I didn't look at 'em."  
  
Lorelai smiled and gave an impressed nod. "Wow, good answer."  
  
Luke smirked. "And she's a nurse, she ordered coffee and cheesecake, I ordered tea and a fruit cup, she didn't try to seduce me, and we talked about. . .a lot of stuff."  
  
"A lot of stuff?" Lorelai asked curiously. "Can you be more specific?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Just. . .what we've done since high school, what we're doing now, what we plan to do in the future . . . you know, basic stuff."  
  
"Huh, basic stuff," Lorelai repeated. "And did you happen to mention. . . "  
  
"The beautiful woman that I live with?" Luke suggested, smiling. "Yes, I do believe your name came up a few times."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah?"  
  
"Of course," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Your name always comes up when I talk to people."  
  
"Well, because the world *does* revolve around me," Lorelai said knowingly.  
  
"That's right," he agreed. He paused, then added, "And she talked about her. . . husband and kids."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "What?"  
  
"Yup, she's happily married to a guy named Philip," Luke said. "And they have two daughters. She had like a million pictures of them in her wallet."  
  
"Husband. . . .daughters?" Lorelai stared down at her lap. "Huh."  
  
"Yes, husband and daughters," Luke replied. "Now, don't you feel bad for assuming that this woman was out to lure me to a motel room when all she wanted to do was catch up with an old friend?"  
  
Lorelai leaned back in her seat and bit her bottom lip. "A little."  
  
"Good, you should," he replied.  
  
Lorelai frowned at him. "Yeah, yeah, I've leaned a valuable life lesson, leave me alone."  
  
"Okay, forget it, this incident is now behind us," Luke said. "So why were you talking to your mother?"  
  
"Oh, she wanted to offer her maid's cooking skills for the shower," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Huh, that was nice. What'd you tell her?" Luke asked.  
  
"Well, she was in the middle of listing all the specialties her new English maid could whip up when you came home," Lorelai explained. "She's gonna call back tomorrow. . .so remind me not to answer the phone."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Hey, if she can help lighten my cooking load, then great." He picked up a magazine from the coffee table and flipped through it.  
  
Lorelai stared at the fireplace for a couple of minutes as she thought about things. Biting her lip pensively, she turned to Luke. "Luke, can I ask you something?"  
  
"Yeah," he replied, not looking up from the magazine.  
  
"Did you know she was married?"  
  
He paused and looked up. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Kathy. . .you didn't know before today that she was married, did you? I mean, she didn't mention it when you saw her last week, right?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke's face reddened slightly and he put the magazine back on the coffee table. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Uh, well. . .she might've . . .possibly mentioned it."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "You knew his whole time that she was married and you didn't tell me? Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know. . .because."  
  
"Because?" Lorelai repeated with disbelief. "Because? You knew I was upset about something and you had information that could've made me less-upset and you didn't share it with me, and the only thing you can say is 'because'?"  
  
Luke took a deep breath. "Okay, I didn't tell you because. . . I saw that you were jealous and I . . .I didn't want the fact that she was married to be the reason that you felt okay with me getting together with her. I wanted us to have a chance to talk everything out and for you to be okay with it because you trusted me, not because she wasn't available. I mean, I wanted you to figure out why you were feeling the way you were feeling."  
  
Lorelai sank back down against her cushion and was quiet for a few seconds. "Oh."  
  
"Understand?"  
  
"Yes, you withheld the information for the betterment of the relationship."  
  
"Yes. . .and wasn't the result positive?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled to herself as she stared at the mantle. "Yeah, it was." She turned to him and wrinkled her nose. "Man, I hate when you do things that are so smart 'cause I always end up feeling like such a loser."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Yeah, well. . .I'm just glad it didn't backfire and that you figured out where the uneasy feeling was coming from." He kissed her. "So. . .you hungry for dinner?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I'll have an 'I feel like an idiot' meal."  
  
"Chicken?" Luke asked.  
  
"Yup."  
  
Luke smiled and stood up, then pulled Lorelai up off the couch. They walked to the kitchen, and when they reached the entryway, Lorelai said, "Oh, did I mention that Rory's not home?"  
  
Luke turned around and raised his eyebrows. "Okay, taking a little detour . . ." He took Lorelai's hand and led her back to the living room and up the staircase to their bedroom.  
  
* * * 


	9. Parts 44 to 48

"It's Right There - Parts 44 - 48"  
  
* * *  
  
PART 44  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning at the Independence Inn, Lorelai stood at the front desk looking through a stack of papers. Michel walked up to her. "What do you think you're doing?"  
  
Knowing he had just sorted them, Lorelai replied, "Oh, just putting these bills in alphabetical order." She tried to hide her smirk as she waited for his reaction.  
  
Michel groaned. "But I just spent twenty minutes organizing them by due date because you asked me to!"  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, yeah, I forgot about that." She held the papers out toward him and smiled. "Can you fix these please?"  
  
Michel slapped his palm on the desk. "Absolutely not!" He stormed off, mumbling something in French.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Ah, you're such a sadist, Lorelai," she mumbled to herself. She placed the papers into a folder and stuck them in one of the desk drawers, then picked up her empty coffee mug and walked into the kitchen. "Hey Sookie."  
  
Sookie smiled from across the room. "Hey."  
  
Lorelai refilled her coffee cup, then walked over to Sookie at the stove. "Whatcha making?" she asked as she peered into the pot Sookie was stirring. She inhaled the scent and said, "Mm, whatever it is, it smells good.'  
  
"Sweet and sour sauce to put on the sweet and sour chicken," Sookie replied. She paused, then added, "Well, it's not sweet and sour chicken yet, but it will be when we pour this sauce on it. Right now it's just chicken."  
  
"Aw, don't say it like that," Lorelai frowned. "The chicken'll feel bad if it hears you call it 'just chicken'. . . it'll think it needs a special marinade just to be considered important in this hectic world."  
  
Sookie glanced over at the pan of chicken on the counter top and grimaced. "Oh, I hope I didn't hurt its feelings."  
  
Lorelai shook her head disappointedly. "I don't know. . .if I heard you talking like that about me, I'd be pretty upset." They both stared at the chicken for a few seconds as if trying to deduce how it was feeling. Finally, Lorelai shrugged. "Okay, anyway. . .what are you doing this weekend?"  
  
As Sookie continued to stare at the chicken, Lorelai rolled her eyes and tapped her on the shoulder. "Uh, Sookie?" Sookie turned to her, a sad expression on her face. Lorelai smiled. "It's okay, Sookie. I'm sure the chicken didn't hear you. . .it was too busy thinking about the incredible sauce it'll be swimming in very soon."  
  
Sookie nodded slowly. She gave a quick glance toward the chicken, then turned back to Lorelai. "Okay, what did you say before?"  
  
Lorelai took a sip of her coffee before she replied, "I asked what you were doing this weekend."  
  
Sookie wiped her hands on a dishtowel and shrugged. "I don't know yet. I think Jackson wanted to play music to his berries."  
  
"Oh yeah, what kind?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"What kind of berries?"  
  
"No, what kind of music?"  
  
"Oh, the fruit have really been responding to jazz lately," Sookie replied. "You know, jazz is music for the soul. . .makes people really think about what they want in life."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Right, right. . .so those berries who are dying to one day be included in a jar of jam will strive their hardest to get there."  
  
"Exactly," Sookie replied. "Why do you ask?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Well, I was thinking that on Saturday night, you and Jackson could come over to our house for dinner. Luke'll cook, Rory will be there, we can all hang out and watch a movie or something. What do you say?"  
  
Sookie smiled. "Aw, that sounds like fun, honey. We'll be there."  
  
"Good, good. Say around seven?"  
  
"Yeah, that sounds good," Sookie replied. "Thanks."  
  
"You're welcome," Lorelai replied. She glanced at her watch. "Okay, I gotta get back out there. Michel was mad at me when I left so I'm sure he's releasing his anger by being rude to the guests."  
  
"And how is that unlike all the other days when he's not mad at you?" Sookie asked, narrowing her eyes curiously.  
  
"Well, now he might actually start physically attacking them instead of just mumbling threats," Lorelai explained.  
  
"Ah. . .you better get out there quickly, then," Sookie pointed to the door.  
  
* * *  
  
On Wednesday night, Lorelai and Luke walked into the market to shop for food for the shower. They each grabbed a basket and walked to the aisle of baking supplies. As Luke began loading items into his basket, Lorelai set her basket on the floor and picked up two different packages of walnuts.  
  
She turned to Luke and held them both up. "Okay, now, we can go with these walnuts right here," she said, shaking the package in her left hand, ". . .which are already conveniently pre-chopped and ready to be thrown into any recipe." She lowered that package and raised the other one. "Or we can go with the walnut halves which are cheaper but rather large, meaning we'd have to crush them ourselves before we use them, adding a bit more to the preparation time."  
  
Luke glanced past Lorelai toward one of the large picture windows. He saw Sookie outside walking toward the entrance to the market. "Uh, Lorelai?"  
  
Lorelai glanced at the packages. "Crushing the walnut halves might be fun, though. I mean, we could smack the bag over and over with a hammer and really use the opportunity to get things out of our system, you know?"  
  
Luke cleared his throat as he saw Sookie walk into the market. "Lorelai?"  
  
She wrinkled her nose. "But there are a lot of things to make, so it'd probably be easier to just go with convenience and get the already-chopped ones." She replaced the package of walnut halves on the shelf, then grabbed a few more packages of the crushed walnuts and dropped them into her basket.  
  
"Lorelai!" Luke whispered harshly.  
  
Lorelai looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "What?" He pointed toward Sookie, and she followed his gaze and gasped. "Oh my God! What is she doing here?"  
  
"Hm, well, I don't know. We're in a food store, maybe she's. . . .food shopping?" Luke suggested.  
  
Lorelai smacked him on the shoulder. "All right, save the sarcasm for later." She stared across the store at Sookie for a few seconds before Sookie saw her and waved. Lorelai smiled and waved back, then turned to Luke and whispered, "She saw me, we have to go say hello. Hurry up and put your basket down. She can't see the stuff we're buying." Luke set his basket on the ground. "Okay, come on." Lorelai grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the aisle.  
  
They walked over to Sookie. "Hey," Lorelai greeted her. Luke nodded hello and stood behind Lorelai with his hands shoved into his pockets.  
  
"Hey, you two." Sookie smiled. "How's it going?"  
  
"Good, how 'bout you?" Lorelai replied.  
  
"Good." Sookie held up her basket. "Just doing a little shopping."  
  
"Right, right." Lorelai nodded. "Well, this is definitely a good place to do that. . . uh huh. . ." She tapped her hands nervously on her thighs.  
  
Sookie glanced down at their hands. "No baskets . . .so what's this, just a crave trip?"  
  
"Uh, yes. . .yes, it is," Lorelai replied quickly.  
  
"A what?" Luke asked.  
  
"A crave trip," Sookie repeated.  
  
"You know, when you're sitting at home and you suddenly get a craving for something so you run all the way to the store to get just that item," Lorelai explained. "Uh, you know. . .like we're doing right now," she added, giving him a pointed look.  
  
"Ah," Luke replied. "I wasn't aware that it had a name."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Lorelai goes on crave trips a lot. So what was it this time?"  
  
"Oh. . . uh, just. . .ice cream," Lorelai replied quickly. "You know, there's nothing like a nice bowl of ice cream on a hot night. . . well, for me anyway. Luke would rather just eat a bowl of ice. . .minus the cream, because I think the cream part's not really good for you. The ice part is, though, because ice is just. . .you know, frozen water and water's probably the healthiest thing you can have. . .you know, no calories or anything. . . " Luke rolled his eyes and gently kicked her foot. Lorelai clamped her mouth shut and glanced over at a shelf of toilet paper. "Wow, I love Charmin," she muttered. "It's so soft."  
  
As Sookie stared at her questioningly, Luke put his hand on Lorelai's shoulder. "Uh, we should get going now. Remember, I wanted to stop at the diner?"  
  
Lorelai turned and gave him an appreciative look over her shoulder. "Right, we should go." She turned back to Sookie. "Uh, we're gonna get going. I'll see you at the inn tomorrow." She grabbed Luke's hand and pulled him toward the exit.  
  
"Uh, hon, you forgot the ice cream," Sookie said.  
  
Lorelai turned around. "Oh, we didn't wanna buy it right now. . .we just wanted to come look at it," she explained. "You know, scope out the inventory. Now we're gonna go to the diner and talk about the different choices, then come back later and buy one."  
  
Behind her, Luke rolled his eyes and muttered, "Smooth."  
  
Lorelai nudged him with her elbow, then smiled at Sookie. "Bye Sookie."  
  
"Bye," she replied, narrowing her eyes with confusion.  
  
They turned around and walked quickly to the exit, and as they stepped out onto the sidewalk, Lorelai let out a sigh of relief. "Oh geez, that was close."  
  
"You know, I *do* own a diner. . .it's not exactly suspicious for me to be buying large amounts of baking products," Luke said.  
  
"Yeah, well, it's so close to the shower now that I don't want anything even remotely suspicious to happen," Lorelai said.  
  
"Oh, right, and your little 'we just came to look at the ice cream' bit was perfectly normal," Luke said, rolling his eyes.  
  
She frowned. "Hey, it was all I could come up with off the top of my head. I was nervous."  
  
"Yeah, I noticed. So, what do you wanna do now?"  
  
Lorelai glanced toward the market and watched Sookie through the window for a few seconds. She turned to Luke and shrugged. "Let's go to the diner and wait for her to leave the market, then we'll come back." Lorelai started walking toward the diner, and Luke followed behind her.  
  
* * *  
  
On Saturday morning, Lorelai and Rory were cleaning the house while Luke was at the diner utilizing the larger, more convenient kitchen to bake for the shower.  
  
Lorelai, after spending twenty minutes vacuuming the living room, collapsed on the couch with an exhausted sigh. "Rory!" she called.  
  
"What?" Rory called back from the kitchen.  
  
"What time is Dean coming over with the tables and chairs?"  
  
"Uh, like, 2:30, I think," Rory replied as she walked into the living room. "He's picking them up from Patty's at two, so by the time he and his dad load them up and drive here, it should be like 2:30."  
  
Lorelai glanced at the clock on the VCR. "Okay, that gives me time to run to the liquor store. Come for a ride with me." She walked over to the desk and grabbed her purse and keys, then she and Rory walked out the front door.  
  
* * *  
  
They returned home forty-five minutes later and found Luke's truck parked out front with both doors open. They unloaded their bags from the trunk and as they walked toward the house, they were surprised when Jess walked out the front door.  
  
They met up on the front porch and Lorelai eyed him curiously. "Hey," she said.  
  
"Hey," Rory said.  
  
Jess nodded toward them. "Hey."  
  
"Uh, are you here with Luke?" Lorelai asked, glancing toward the house. "Is he inside?"  
  
"Nah, he asked me to drop some stuff off," Jess replied. He gestured toward the house. "I just put everything on the kitchen table. . .hope that's okay."  
  
"Yeah, that's fine, thanks," Lorelai replied. "Are you gonna stop by tonight?"  
  
Jess shrugged. "I don't know. . ."  
  
"Promises to be pretty entertaining. . .especially watching my mom try to avoid my grandma all night," Rory said, smiling at Lorelai.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Evil child." She turned to Jess. "We know it's not your type of thing, but there'll be a ton of food . . .stop by if you want."  
  
Jess shrugged again. "I don't know. . .maybe." He started walking toward the truck. "I gotta go."  
  
"Bye," Rory said.  
  
"Bye. . .thanks," Lorelai called. They walked into the house, and Lorelai's eyes widened as they entered the kitchen. The table was covered with boxes of food from the diner. "Oh my God."  
  
Rory was just as impressed. "Wow, that's a lot of food."  
  
They set their bags down and began opening the boxes, sneaking peeks at all the baked goods Luke had sent over.  
  
"Wow, he totally outdid himself," Lorelai said, shaking her head slightly.  
  
"Definitely. I hope they taste as good as they look," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai glanced at her with a sly smile. "Guess we better make sure."  
  
Rory smiled. "I'll try a cookie."  
  
"I'll try a brownie," Lorelai said. They reached for their respective treats and each took a bite. Lorelai closed her eyes and moaned, "Oh my God, that's soooo good!"  
  
"Mm, this is incredible!" Rory exclaimed. She shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth and chewed it slowly, savoring the taste. As she swallowed, she said, "He should've known better than to leave all this food with us, though. What's wrong with him?"  
  
"I don't know," Lorelai said. "All the baking must've affected his head." She shut the boxes and said, "Okay, we have to get out of here before we eat everything. What time is it?"  
  
Rory glanced at the microwave. "Almost two."  
  
"Okay, Dean'll be here soon with the tables and stuff to set up outside, so let's go check out where we want them," Lorelai said.  
  
"Okay." Rory followed her out the back door and onto the porch. They walked onto the front lawn and began discussing where to set up the tables and chairs. "Okay, this is what I think. . .may I?" Rory asked.  
  
"Go ahead," Lorelai said.  
  
"I think that we should set up the food inside. . .some in Babette's house and some in ours," Rory explained. "Because it'll be really hot out and the food will get all warm and soggy. Plus, there'll be bugs and everything, and I just think it'll be better to have the food set up inside in the air conditioning to keep it fresher, and then set up the tables and chairs for people to eat out here in the yard."  
  
Lorelai nodded slowly. "Okay, that sounds good. What about drinks?"  
  
"Well, I was thinking we could have some inside, but also have a table and some coolers on each of the porches," Rory said, pointing to both houses. "Some by the side door of our house, and some by Babette's front door right there. That way it's all spread out and everything."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Man, you're so. . .what's the word?"  
  
"Organized?" Rory suggested. "Smart? Wonderful? Beautiful?"  
  
Lorelai laughed. "All of the above." She fanned herself with her hand. "Man, it's hot out here. I'm gonna go change into something cooler, then we gotta hose down the porch. There's a thick coating of dirt on it and I think the weight of it is starting to buckle the brand new joists under there." She started walking toward the front door.  
  
"When are we gonna pick up the stuff from the bakery?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai turned around. "Oh, I told Fran we'd be there about four."  
  
"Okay. I'm gonna go see if Babette needs help with anything."  
  
"Okay." Lorelai went up to her bedroom to change, and returned a few minutes later in her denim cutoffs and a bikini top. She pulled the hose out of the shed and began spraying off the porch.  
  
She finished up just as Rory walked out of Babette's house, and she helped Lorelai drag the hose back to the shed. "Everything okay in there?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yup, the house is all decorated and everything," Rory said. "It looks cute."  
  
"Speaking of which, let's go decorate ours," Lorelai said. "Then we can come decorate out here and die of heat exhaustion."  
  
"Sounds good," Rory said as she followed Lorelai into the house.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Lorelai and Rory arrived home from the bakery. They carried the boxes into the house and set them on the counter, then Lorelai pulled off her T-shirt and dropped it on a chair. "Oh my God, this heat is unbearable." She opened up the freezer and let the cold air cool her down.  
  
"Maybe we can turn the shower into a beach party or something, and we can all wear our bathing suits and run through the sprinkler," Rory suggested.  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose as she shut the freezer door. "Hm, that'd be a good idea if it was just a small gathering amongst close friends, but there are too many people in this town that I'd rather not see in a bathing suit."  
  
"Huh, good point," Rory agreed.  
  
A car horn honked from outside, and they rushed to the front door. They stepped onto the porch just as Luke was climbing out of his truck. Lorelai smiled and clapped excitedly. "The rest of the food is here!"  
  
"Yay!" Rory exclaimed.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "A little help, please?" he said, gesturing to the truck.  
  
"Oh, right," Rory said. "Come on, Mom." Rory walked down the porch and over to the passenger side door.  
  
Lorelai walked over to Luke on the other side of the truck. She wrinkled her nose at his shirt, which was covered with flour, cocoa powder, and other caked-on ingredients that Lorelai couldn't identify. "Did the kitchen explode?"  
  
Luke glanced down at his shirt. "Just about." He glanced at her bikini top and asked, "Did all your shirts disappear?"  
  
Lorelai giggled and nodded. "Yup." She kissed him, then wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Mm, I haven't seen you in like. . .forever."  
  
Luke smiled. "I know, not since this morning." He brought his hands up around her waist and pulled her tighter against his body.  
  
As Rory carried a few boxes toward the house, she said, "Okay, why am I the only one working here?"  
  
"Because you're younger than us," Lorelai replied. As Rory disappeared through the front door, Lorelai kissed Luke passionately. When she finally pulled back, she said, "Thank you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
She kissed him again. "For wasting your entire Saturday baking a ton of food that you're not even gonna eat," she said. "And for not complaining about it once."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Yeah, well, if I didn't do it, you would've went out and bought even more stuff from the bakery, so a few hours of kitchen labor essentially saved us a couple hundred bucks."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "So, instead of doing it because you love me and wanted to help out as much as you could, you did it solely for financial purposes."  
  
"Right."  
  
Lorelai giggled and stroked his cheek. "Lying through your teeth."  
  
"Okay, so I am." Luke smiled and kissed her. "Come on, let's get this stuff inside." They each grabbed a box from the truck and walked into the house.  
  
As they entered the kitchen, they saw Rory leaning against the counter on the phone. Luke gestured to Lorelai's box. "That one has to go in the refrigerator. It's pudding."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Mm, pudding!" She opened the box and pulled out two large covered bowls, then stuck them in the fridge as Rory hung up the phone.  
  
"Okay, Lane'll be here as soon as she can to set up the stereo and get all the CDs organized and everything," Rory announced.  
  
"Good, and I told Kirk he could bring the ice, and to bring it early, so he should be here soon with that. Let's go bring in the rest of the boxes from the truck," Lorelai said. "We can start dividing the food between here and Babette's."  
  
"All right, let me go change my shirt, then I'll give ya a hand," Luke said.  
  
* * *  
  
Forty-five minutes later, Rory and Lane were setting up the stereo, Kirk was filling a bunch of coolers with ice on Lorelai's side porch, and both Luke and Lorelai were at Babette's house helping set up the food tables.  
  
When they finally stepped out onto Babette's porch, they saw Emily pull up in front of their house. Lorelai groaned, then turned around and tried to walk back inside, but Luke caught her arm and pulled her back out. "No, come on."  
  
Lorelai frowned as Luke led her across the yard to Emily's car. As Emily climbed out, Lorelai forced a smile. "Hi Mom."  
  
"Hello Lorelai," Emily replied, then nodded toward Luke. "Luke."  
  
"Emily," Luke replied. "How's everything?"  
  
"Fine, thank you," Emily replied. She narrowed her eyes at Lorelai's cutoffs and bikini top. "I see I'm a tad overdressed."  
  
"Yeah, didn't you get the memo that we've turned the shower into an MTV Beach House party?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Confused, Emily replied, "A what?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Nothing. Uh, do you need help with anything?" he asked, gesturing to the car.  
  
"Yes, thank you. I have a few boxes of pastries to bring in." Emily walked toward her trunk, and Luke and Lorelai followed. Emily opened it, then stepped back as Luke and Lorelai each leaned into the trunk and grabbed a box.  
  
Emily's eyes widened and she gasped loudly. "Lorelai Gilmore!" she exclaimed.  
  
Surprised, Lorelai and Luke both turned around. "What?" she asked.  
  
Emily pursed her lips. "What in the world is that on your back?"  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes and looked over her shoulder. "I don't know. . .what is it, Luke? Is it a bug? Get it off of me!"  
  
Luke cleared his throat. "Uh, I think she means. . .your tattoo."  
  
"Yes, that tattoo!" Emily replied indignantly. "How long have you had that?"  
  
Reveling internally at seeing her mother freak out, Lorelai smirked and said, "I got it a couple weeks ago. Don't worry, though, the tattoo parlor was clean. . .I saw them take the needle out of the guy before me and run it under cold water before they used it on me."  
  
"Do not joke about this, Lorelai! Why would you go and do something like that to your body?" Emily grimaced as if the thought of a tattoo disgusted her. She glanced over at Luke and zeroed in on his tattoo that was peeking out from under his sleeve. "Oh, well, I see. . . perhaps someone else with a tattoo influenced you to get one also?" Emily suggested, glaring accusingly at Luke as she spoke.  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "What?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "No, Mother, you - and I want to take my time as I say this to really cherish the moment - you. . . couldn't. . . be. . . more. . . wrong." She smiled to herself and let out a soft sigh. "Ah, that felt good."  
  
"Lorelai," Luke prompted her to explain.  
  
"Oh, right, sorry," Lorelai replied. She turned to Emily. "Mom, this isn't a real tattoo, it's just temporary, and Luke had nothing to do with me getting it. He didn't even know I was getting it. He was just as surprised as you were when he saw it."  
  
"Yes, well - " Emily started.  
  
"Come on, let's get these inside," Lorelai interrupted. She turned and walked quickly toward the house, and they both followed her. They walked into the kitchen and set the boxes on the table, and Lorelai opened them. "Mm, these look great."  
  
"Yes, Beatrice is a wonderful cook," Emily replied.  
  
"Looks that way," Lorelai replied. She quickly arranged the pastries on the table with the other food, then turned to Emily. "Okay, uh, Rory's in the living room if you wanna say hello. Luke and I are gonna go upstairs and get dressed before other people start to arrive."  
  
"Ah, yes, I was just about to ask where Rory was," Emily said, turning around and walking into the living room.  
  
Lorelai glanced over her shoulder at Luke and exhaled loudly. He gave her a sympathetic look as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the living room. Emily was standing with Rory and Lane near the stereo. Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, Rory, you're in charge of everything while we go up and change."  
  
"Okay, Mom," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai and Luke climbed the steps to their bedroom, and Lorelai locked the door and groaned loudly. "Oh my God!"  
  
"It wasn't so bad," Luke said.  
  
"Not so bad? Not so bad?" Lorelai scoffed and began pacing. "Luke, she wasn't even here a minute before she got on my case! A minute! That surprises even me because when I've sat down and thought about how bad this night could be, and when I've thought about how long she'd take to get on me about something, I assumed five, ten minutes, tops." She shook her head in disbelief. "But less than a minute - geez, the woman must hold some sort of record, I swear to God!" She sighed loudly and buried her face against Luke's shoulder. "Hug me."  
  
Luke hugged her tightly, and the feeling of his warm hands against her bare back made her feel more relaxed. Luke ran his hands up and down her back, interrupted only by thin strap of her bikini top. Lorelai's hands found their way up Luke's shirt and she lightly dragged her nails up and down his back.  
  
They stood silently for over a minute, just letting their hands explore each other's backs, before Luke finally pulled back. "We should get down there," he said. "People are gonna start coming soon."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Dirty!" As Luke rolled his eyes, she added, "Did you mean that literally. . .because a few more minutes of your hands on my body just might make it happen." She pressed her lips against his and kissed him hungrily.  
  
Luke kissed her back, then pulled away from her. "Come on, get dressed. Don't think about your mother anymore, think about Sookie."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Sookie, right, got it. This night is about her and Jackson, not me and my mother."  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, they walked downstairs - Luke in black pants with a black shirt, and Lorelai in her new strapless dress with her straightened hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck.  
  
As Luke walked into the kitchen, Lorelai walked outside and glanced around. Guests were starting to arrive, and a small pile of gifts had started to accumulate on the gift table. Music was playing in the background - while the stereo was inside, the speakers were set up right against the side window so that the music could be heard outside.  
  
Rory walked across the yard and up the steps. She linked her arm through Lorelai's. "Hey Mom."  
  
Lorelai turned her head and smiled. "Hey sweets." She kissed Rory on the cheek. "How's everything going?"  
  
"Pretty good," Rory said. "The dress looks great."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks." She wrinkled her nose and whispered, "Do you see your grandmother anywhere?"  
  
"Oh, she's on the side of the house with Kirk," Rory replied. "I just saw them."  
  
Lorelai closed her eyes and put her hands on her forehead. "No."  
  
"It's okay, Mom," Rory replied.  
  
"Rory, she's talking with Kirk," Lorelai reminded her.  
  
"I know, but he has some interesting things to say. . .sometimes. . ." Rory's voice trailed off. "Occasionally."  
  
Lorelai grabbed Rory's arm. "Come with me." They walked to the side of the house, where Emily and Kirk were standing near the drink table.  
  
As they walked up behind them, they caught some of their conversation. ". . . my true passion. I've been working on a film for a few years now that I hope one day will be ready for the world to view."  
  
"Well, that's very interesting," Emily replied.  
  
Lorelai cleared her throat. "Hey guys."  
  
They both turned around. Emily smiled. "Lorelai, Rory, hello." She glanced down at Lorelai's dress. "That's a lovely dress."  
  
"Thanks, Mom," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Perhaps a bit short, though," Emily added.  
  
Lorelai forced a smile. "So, how about we go get something to eat, huh?"  
  
"But Sookie's not here yet," Emily said.  
  
"So?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"So, she's the guest of honor, and nobody's supposed to eat until the guest of honor arrives," Emily informed her. "Trust me, I've been to many showers in my day, Lorelai. This is how they work."  
  
"Okay, well, you stick to that rule, Mom. I'm gonna go grab a cookie," Lorelai said.  
  
* * *  
  
By seven o'clock, most of the guests had arrived and the yard was full of people. Lorelai had made an announcement that Sookie and Jackson would be arriving any minute, and she stood with a bunch of people near the edge of the yard eagerly watching for their car to pull up. She scanned the yard for Luke and found him standing with a group of men near Babette's house. As they locked eyes and smiled at each other, a voice yelled, "Here they come!"  
  
Lorelai quickly turned around and looked down the street. She saw Sookie's SUV heading slowly toward the house, and as it approached, saw the confused look on Sookie's face. Jackson looked just as confused, and when Lorelai saw their lips moving, she assumed they were probably asking each other what was going on.  
  
Jackson parked the car and as they both climbed out, several people shouted, "Surprise!" It was then that Sookie finally saw the "Congratulations Sookie and Jackson!" banner that hung over Lorelai's porch.  
  
"Oh my God!" Sookie clapped a hand over her mouth, and she walked over to Jackson and pointed out the sign to him. Tears welled up in her eyes and she clutched onto Jackson's arm.  
  
After giving them a few seconds to take everything in, Lorelai finally broke off from the crowd and stepped up to them. "Ladies and Gentlemen," she announced loudly, "the guests of honor have arrived. . .let the fun begin!"  
  
As everyone clapped and cheered, Lorelai wrapped her arms around Sookie. "Congratulations, Sookie." Lorelai pulled back and kissed her on the cheek, then smiled at Jackson as she gestured to the yard. "This is all for you guys."  
  
"It's amazing," Jackson said, smiling broadly. "I can't believe it."  
  
Sookie sniffled loudly as tears ran down her cheeks. "Oh my God, Lorelai! I can't believe you did this!" she exclaimed, smacking her playfully on the shoulder.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Why not? You did it for me!"  
  
Sookie wiped her tears and giggled. "Only you were able to keep it a surprise. How'd you do that anyway? You're terrible at keeping secrets."  
  
"Well, this one was too good to spoil," Lorelai said, smiling. "Listen, why don't you guys go greet your fans and sign autographs and get settled, and I'll get you each a drink."  
  
"Okay. Come on, Sookie," Jackson said. He took her hand and led her over to the crowd.  
  
Lorelai smiled to herself as she stood back and watched them talking to people. A few minutes later, Luke walked over to her and slipped his arm around her waist. She smiled and nodded toward Sookie and Jackson. "Look at 'em."  
  
Luke smiled and nodded. "They look happy."  
  
They continued watching them for a few more seconds until Lorelai moved in front of Luke. She smiled and pressed her lips against his, kissing him deeply. She tried to part his lips with her tongue but he kept them tight, and her attempt was unsuccessful. She pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. "What's wrong?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "What do you think? There's like a hundred people behind you, including your mother- this ain't exactly my preferred kissing scenario."  
  
Lorelai grabbed Luke's hand and pulled him to the other side of Sookie's SUV. "There, unless Superman's in the crowd, no one can see us now." She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. This time he welcomed her tongue into his mouth and she moaned softly as the kiss deepened with passion.  
  
Lorelai pulled back and smirked. "Luke, do you think Superman is really a. . .you know, 'super man'?"  
  
"Like, what do you mean?" Luke asked. "In bed?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Definitely," Luke said, nodding seriously.  
  
"Better than Batman?"  
  
"Absolutely," Luke replied.  
  
"So if I accidentally got transported into some crazy comic book world and I had to pick one of them to sleep with, I should go with Superman?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke thought for a moment. "No, you should go with Batman so that when you get back from the comic book world you won't be disappointed that I'm not as good as Superman."  
  
"But you think you're as good as Batman?" Lorelai asked, smiling.  
  
Luke scoffed. "Please. . . he ain't even in the same league as me and Superman."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Wow, so our sex is comparable to that of Superhero measurements?"  
  
"Yes, it is." Luke nodded. "By the way, have you had anything to drink yet?"  
  
She narrowed her eyes. "Just soda, why?"  
  
"Just wondering if this stupid conversation is a result of over- consumption, but I guess not," Luke said, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai giggled. "No, trust me - the conversations will get worse as the night progresses." She kissed him, then said, "Come on, I told Sookie and Jackson I'd get them drinks." She took his hand and led him toward the front porch.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 45  
  
* * *  
  
They walked up onto the porch and over to the drink table. Lorelai ladled out two cups of punch, and they brought them over to Sookie and Jackson, who were talking with a group of people. Lorelai handed them the drinks, and they smiled and thanked her.  
  
As Lorelai and Luke walked away from the group, Lorelai asked, "Are you hungry? I'm starving."  
  
"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go check out that vegetable tray at Babette's," Luke replied. "Where are you going?"  
  
"Well, right now, the brownies are my number one priority, but I'm also going to try at least one of every cookie."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I'll meet you back out here." He headed toward Babette's as Lorelai walked into her house.  
  
She mouthed the words to the U2 song playing in the background as she made her way to the kitchen, which she found filled to capacity as people scoured the food tables. She grabbed a plate and waited impatiently at the end of the line.  
  
Soon, Patty walked in through the back door. "Lorelai, hi! Great party!"  
  
"Thanks, Patty." Lorelai smiled. She pointed to the cup Patty was holding. "Whatcha drinking?"  
  
Patty smiled slyly. "Mm, some of your famous punch. . .which as usual tastes more like vodka spiked with punch than punch spiked with vodka."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Just how we like it, huh?"  
  
Patty winked. "You know it, dear." She took a drink of it, then asked, "By the way, was that your mother I saw outside?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes, then nodded. "Yeah, why - what's she doing now? Informing the neighbors that their house paint is chipping?"  
  
Patty rubbed Lorelai on the shoulder. "No, she's just chatting, don't worry. I'm gonna go mingle. See you later."  
  
"Bye Patty." Lorelai smiled as Patty walked away, then she turned back toward the food and muttered, "Okay, come on people." The line moved along slowly, and when she was finally in arm's length of the food, she piled on a bunch of treats, sampling a bit of everything. She carried the plate outside and saw Luke sitting at a table.  
  
Lorelai walked over and sat down with a sigh. "Man, the line was moving way too slow. I was this close to invoking my 'it's my house so I get to cut in line' rule."  
  
"Very hospitable," Luke commented before he bit into a carrot stick.  
  
"Yeah, well, I'd rather be considered inhospitable then be dead of starvation," Lorelai replied. She glanced toward the porch. "I'm gonna get a drink. You want something?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. . . I'll take a water," Luke replied.  
  
"Mmkay, be right back," Lorelai replied. She stood up and walked over to the drink table, where Rory was pouring herself some soda. "Hey you."  
  
Rory looked up and smiled. "Hey Mom." She finished pouring her drink, then replaced the lid on the bottle. "What's up?"  
  
Lorelai ladled herself some punch. "Just making sure you're staying away from Mommy's special punch. . .it may look sweet and innocent, but by now you should know that when things look that way, it's never how it seems."  
  
"What about me? I look sweet and innocent," Rory said.  
  
"Rest my case," Lorelai said with a shrug.  
  
Rory frowned. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome," Lorelai replied. "Where's Dean?"  
  
Rory pointed across the yard. "Over there talking with some friends. I was with them, but they started talking about football, so - "  
  
"You politely excused yourself so you wouldn't have to stand there smiling and pretending to be interested?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"That's my girl." Lorelai reached into one of the coolers and pulled out a bottle of water. As she shut the cooler and stood back up, she saw Kirk walking up to her with his camera. Lorelai smiled. "Oh, good, you brought it! Thanks Kirk. Be sure to get as many shots as you can, okay?"  
  
"I will," he replied. "And you're gonna - "  
  
"Pay for all the film. . .yes, Kirk," Lorelai said. She put her arm around Rory. "Ooh, here, this is a good shot. Smile, babe." They both smiled and Kirk took the picture, then Lorelai said, "Hey, try to get a shot of me and Luke together without him noticing. He hates pictures so I know he'll never pose for one, but try to get a candid of us together at some point, okay?"  
  
Kirk nodded. "I'm on it. But if he sees me do it and breaks my camera - "  
  
"Yes, I'll get you a new camera, Kirk," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Okay." Kirk turned around and walked away.  
  
Lorelai turned to Rory. "Wanna come sit with me and Luke? We can make fun of his plateful of vegetables."  
  
Rory smiled. "No thanks, I'm gonna go see how Lane's doing in there."  
  
"Okay, see you later," Lorelai replied. She walked back to the table and was surprised when she saw Jess there talking to Luke.  
  
"Hey Jess," Lorelai said. As he nodded toward her, she placed Luke's water next to his plate and sat down. "You decided to stop by?"  
  
"Yeah, but just to borrow the truck," Luke said, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Ah, got it. Well, you might as well have some free food while you're here. Go grab a plate, help yourself."  
  
Jess glanced toward the house. "Thanks, maybe I'll check it out." He turned back to Luke. "Keys?"  
  
"In the first drawer of the hallway table," Luke replied, gesturing toward the front door.  
  
"Thanks." Jess walked toward the house.  
  
"And stay away from the punch!" Luke called after him.  
  
Lorelai laughed as she picked up a cookie, then said, "He's borrowing the truck again, huh?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah." He bit into a celery stick, then added, "And, you know, actually. . .I was thinking that his birthday's coming up soon. . ."  
  
Lorelai froze in mid-bite, then turned toward him slowly. "And. . ." she prompted him.  
  
Luke shrugged and said, "I don't know. I was thinking of maybe. . . giving him my truck and getting myself a new one."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened and she shook her head slightly. "Wow. . .that's quite a birthday present there."  
  
"I mean, I know it's not his dream car or anything, but it'll be something to use while he saves up for one of his own," Luke explained.  
  
"Wow. . .that's. . . quite a birthday present there," Lorelai repeated, staring down at her plate.  
  
"You said that already," Luke pointed out.  
  
"I know."  
  
He stared at her for a moment. "What - you don't think it's a good idea?"  
  
Lorelai pushed her fingertips into a brownie, smushing three deep holes into it. She shrugged and said, "He's your nephew, it's your truck, do whatever you want. I mean, if you think he's ready for it, then. . .sure, go ahead." She pulled her fingers out and wiped them on a napkin.  
  
"Why wouldn't he be ready for it?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "The kid already has his own place, why wouldn't he be ready for his own car?"  
  
"I don't know, I just. . .maybe you should. . ." Lorelai bit her lip for a moment and glanced toward the truck at the edge of the yard. She turned back to him and shrugged. "I don't know, maybe you're right. He's been working hard, he's been staying out of trouble, that we know of. He's probably ready for it."  
  
"So, you. . . think it's a good idea?" Luke asked, surprised.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure he'll appreciate it. All kids want their own car." She glanced back over at his truck. "So, you're gonna get a new truck?"  
  
"Yeah, I've been thinking about it for awhile," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "You should get an Explorer, those things are pretty popular. Or a Dodge Durango. . .I see those commercials a lot, they seem good."  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know what I'm gonna go with yet. I'll have to look around."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Right." She smiled and added, "Well, if you need any help, I'm a professional shopper."  
  
"Yes, I know," Luke replied, rolling his eyes. "And if it wasn't clear enough to me before we were together, the credit card bills have certainly proved it."  
  
* * *  
  
A few minutes later, after she had thrown her plate in the trash can near the porch steps, Lorelai walked into her house and almost bumped into Emily in the front entryway. "Whoa, sorry Mom," Lorelai apologized.  
  
"That's all right," Emily replied. "I was just coming to find you."  
  
"Well. . .you did, congratulations," Lorelai replied.  
  
Emily clasped her hands together. "How about a tour of the house?"  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "A tour?"  
  
Emily rolled her eyes. "It's not like I'm asking you to drive me to Florida, Lorelai. I'm asking you to take five minutes from the party to show your mother around your house that she hasn't been to in over a year. . .is that going to kill you?"  
  
"Maybe," Lorelai muttered under her breath. She forced a smile and said, "Okay, this is the front hallway." She walked into the living room. "This is the living room, mostly used for watching television."  
  
Emily glanced at the shelves of movies near the TV. "You certainly have a lot of videos."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yes, this family places an extremely high value on the entertainment industry. It is to us what heroin is to a junkie, or what honey is to Winnie the Pooh."  
  
"Interesting analogies."  
  
"Yes, I wasn't sure if you'd prefer the adult one or the PG one, so I threw them both out there," Lorelai explained.  
  
"Just stick with the family-friendly ones, thank you," Emily replied.  
  
"Ah, sure," Lorelai replied. She led Emily down the hallway to the kitchen, which was filled with people. "And this is the kitchen, which on a normal day doesn't have quite so many people in it."  
  
"I should hope not," Emily replied. She walked over to the fridge and pulled it open. "My God, there's food in here."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, it's a new concept that Luke brought with him when he moved in . . . always have food around."  
  
Emily smirked as she shut the refrigerator. "Wise man you found there, Lorelai."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. She gestured toward Rory's bedroom door. "And that's Rory's bedroom in there, she can show it to you later. Uh, did you wanna see upstairs, too?"  
  
"Why not?" Emily replied.  
  
"Okay, follow me," Lorelai replied. She led Emily to the staircase and up the steps. She pushed open her bedroom door. "This is our room. . . me and Luke." She flipped on the light switch and they stepped into the room.  
  
"Huh, it's very. . ." Emily started.  
  
"Cluttered?" Lorelai suggested.  
  
"Yes, cluttered describes it well," Emily replied.  
  
"Yeah, well, we both have a lot of stuff," Lorelai said with a shrug.  
  
Emily pointed to a garment bag in the closet. "What's that?"  
  
"Oh, that's Sookie's wedding dress," Lorelai replied. "She's storing it here."  
  
"Oh, how nice." Emily smiled. "Is your bridesmaid dress here?"  
  
"No, it's still at Sookie's house," Lorelai said. "We have to finish up a few little things on it, then it'll be all set." She walked out of the room into the hallway. "There's the bathroom and there's the laundry room," she said, pointing to the two doorways.  
  
"The laundry room's upstairs?" Emily asked, surprised. "That must be convenient having it right here."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, it is, but it doesn't make doing laundry any more enjoyable." She glanced around and shrugged. "Uh, so that's pretty much it, Mom. Thanks for taking part in the tour. Be sure to stop by the gift shop on your way out."  
  
Emily rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Lorelai." She cleared her throat, then glanced down at the floor as she said, "You know, I don't want you to think that I don't like Luke."  
  
Surprised, Lorelai narrowed her eyes and said, "What?"  
  
Emily brought her gaze up to meet Lorelai's. "Just because I'm hesitant about you two living together so soon doesn't mean that I don't like him. I do. . .your father and I both think he's very nice."  
  
Lorelai nodded slowly. "I know."  
  
"I mean, I'm just. . .concerned about you and Rory and how this could end up," Emily explained. "It's a mother's instinct to be worried about things that could happen."  
  
"Look, Mom, I understand where you're coming from, being worried and everything," Lorelai said. "And I appreciate it . . .but I've told you a million times already that there's nothing to worry about, that we were both ready for this to happen. Why don't you believe me?  
  
Emily sighed. "I do believe you, Lorelai, but it's hard to forget what happened last year with Max."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Mom, this situation couldn't be any more different from that one! Please, please, please just look me in the eye and tell me that you believe me when I say that."  
  
Emily stared at Lorelai for a second, then said, "I believe you."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Thank you. Let's get back to the party." Emily nodded and followed Lorelai down the steps, and Emily walked into the kitchen as Lorelai wandered out onto the front porch.  
  
She glanced around until she spotted Sookie at the drink table. Lorelai walked up to her and rubbed her back. "Hey girlie," Lorelai said.  
  
Sookie turned around and smiled. "Lorelai! Oh my God, I just saw the food! The spread is amazing!"  
  
"It pales in comparison to something you could do, but I did my best," Lorelai replied.  
  
"No, it's incredible, really!" Sookie exclaimed excitedly. "Ah, I can't believe all this. You completely outdid yourself." She glanced around the yard. "Just. . .all these people. . .all that food. . .it's just amazing."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Well, you guys deserve it, Sookie."  
  
Sookie smiled and hugged her tightly. A few seconds passed before Sookie sniffled loudly, and Lorelai pulled back. "Aw, don't cry . . . this is a party."  
  
Sookie wiped her tears. "Yeah, well, it's my party and - "  
  
"Agh, I totally set you up for that," Lorelai interrupted, wrinkling her nose.  
  
" - I'll cry if I want to," Sookie finished.  
  
"Thank you, Leslie Gore," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes.  
  
Sookie smiled. "Hey, quick question. . .did you actually invite your mother, or did she just happen to show up on shower night?"  
  
Lorelai groaned. "I invited her. . . it's a long story that includes a temporary moment of me losing my mind."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Can't wait to hear it."  
  
Lorelai glanced at the gift table. "Wow, you're gonna be here all night opening gifts. You better get started soon."  
  
Sookie followed Lorelai's gaze. "Wow, how are we gonna get all those home?"  
  
"We'll figure something out," Lorelai said. "Don't worry about it."  
  
Sookie nodded. "Okay, I'm gonna go find Jackson and start unwrapping."  
  
"Sounds good," Lorelai replied.  
  
* * *  
  
Forty-five minutes later, Sookie and Jackson took a break from opening their gifts to mingle with the guests. Lorelai, who had been watching from a nearby table, stood up and walked toward the house. As she walked up the porch steps, she spotted her mother laughing with Miss Patty near the drink table. Curious, Lorelai smiled and walked over to them. "Hey guys, what's so funny?"  
  
They both looked up. "Oh, Lorelai, I was just telling your mother about what you did to Taylor last week," Patty explained.  
  
"You rearranged his shelves?" Emily asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "Who me?"  
  
Patty laughed. "I'm just happy that I was in the store to see the look on his face. Ah, that's something I won't forget for a long time." She held up her empty cup. "Well, I'm off to get a refill. See you girls later."  
  
Emily smiled as she walked away, then she turned to Lorelai and frowned. "You rearranged his shelves?" she asked angrily. "Why would you do such a thing?"  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Mother, you were laughing about it thirty seconds ago!"  
  
"Yes, well, I was being polite, but do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to be told that your thirty-three year old daughter acts like a teenager?" Emily asked. "I was mortified!"  
  
Lorelai sighed loudly. "Mom. . . "  
  
"Why do you do things like that, Lorelai? Is there some reason in particular that you wanted to make this man's life more difficult by completely destroying the setup of his store?"  
  
Lorelai pursed her lips. "Not really."  
  
Emily shook her head in disbelief. "So you did it purely for your own enjoyment. . .to see another person in a dire situation where they . . . "  
  
While Emily continued to question Lorelai's actions, Luke was across the yard discussing baseball with a group of guys. He glanced over toward the porch and saw Emily and Lorelai talking animatedly. He instantly recognized the look on Lorelai's face - the one that screamed 'please, someone help me!'.  
  
He excused himself from the guys and walked over to Lorelai and Emily. He put his hand on Lorelai's shoulder and cleared his throat. "Uh, sorry to interrupt, but Rory's looking for you," Luke said. "I think it's important, maybe you should go find her."  
  
Lorelai turned around and gave Luke an appreciative smile. She turned back to Emily. "Oh, I gotta go, Mom. Excuse me." Before she walked away, she leaned up to Luke's ear and whispered, "You are so getting lucky tonight. . .multiple times."  
  
Luke blushed slightly and he glanced toward Emily to see if she'd heard. When he was sure that she hadn't, he smiled slyly. As Lorelai walked away, he stepped closer to Emily. "Uh, so. . .I hear Richard's been working a lot lately." They walked over to the bench and sat down.  
  
"Yes, he has." Emily nodded. "He's starting up his own firm, did Lorelai tell you?"  
  
"Yeah, she did," Luke replied. "That'll be good for him."  
  
"Yes, it will," Emily agreed. "Once he gets everything established and he gets settled." There was a brief moment of silence before she asked, "And the diner. . .how are things going there?"  
  
"Oh, it's good, thanks," Luke said. "It's paying the bills."  
  
"I'm sure a business like that keeps you pretty busy," Emily said.  
  
"Yeah, it's a handful," he replied. "Some days I'd find myself working from six in the morning to eleven at night."  
  
"Wow, doesn't leave much time for anything else," Emily commented.  
  
"No, it doesn't, which is why I've been cutting back on the hours to spend more time at home," Luke said.  
  
Emily nodded. "That's good. I'm sure Lorelai enjoys seeing you home more often."  
  
Luke smiled and shrugged. "I hope so." Emily gave him a small smile and glanced toward the yard. They were both quiet for a few seconds before Luke cleared his throat and said, "Uh. . .I know you hate this whole living arrangement thing, but. . ."  
  
Surprised, Emily turned to him and scoffed. "I don't *hate* this living arrangement."  
  
"Well, maybe hate's a bit strong of a word. . .you were having trouble accepting it," Luke said. "That might be a better way of putting it."  
  
Emily nodded. "Yes, I was having a bit of trouble with it, but. . .I'm okay with it now."  
  
Surprised, Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "You are. . .really?"  
  
Emily nodded. "Lorelai and I discussed the matter earlier and she's fairly confident that you two wouldn't have done this if you weren't ready for it."  
  
"It's true."  
  
"I know," Emily said with a sigh. "I just. . .you know, a mother worries sometimes."  
  
"I understand," Luke said. After a brief lull of silence, he stood up. "Uh, I'm gonna go make sure Lorelai found Rory okay. I'll see you later."  
  
Emily smiled. "Okay."  
  
Luke walked into the house through the side door. A group of people were sitting around the coffee table as Sookie and Jackson recounted the story of the first time they met.  
  
Lorelai saw him walk in, and she excused herself from the couch and walked over to him. "Hey," she said, smiling. "Thanks for saving me."  
  
"You're welcome," he replied.  
  
"I saw you guys talking out there. What was that all about?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke shrugged. "Just small talk, nothing big."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "So what are you doing now?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively and asked, "Got a minute to make out?"  
  
"I think I can squeeze you in," he said.  
  
Lorelai grinned. "Come on." She grabbed his hand and led him down the hallway to the kitchen. They slipped into Rory's bedroom and shut the door behind them. Lorelai turned the light on. "How's this?"  
  
"Perfect." He leaned forward and kissed her. He placed his hands on her neck, then slid them down over her bare shoulders all the way down her arms. He took her hands into his as he pulled back from her and stared deeply into her eyes.  
  
After a few seconds, Lorelai asked. "Are you all right?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Mmhmm."  
  
"You look nervous about something," she said. She ran her fingers through his hair. "You sure you're okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm good."  
  
"Good." She brought her hands up to his face and stroked his sideburns as she leaned forward to kiss him. When she finally pulled back, she said, "We should probably get back out there."  
  
"Probably," he agreed.  
  
She started to step toward the door, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. She giggled as he pressed his lips against her neck and sucked lightly on her skin. "Okay, just let me know when you're finished," she mumbled, closing her eyes. As he began kissing down to her shoulder, she moaned softly toward the ceiling. He kissed across her chest to her other shoulder and kissed his way up her neck to her earlobe. He took it between his lips and sucked on it lightly, his teeth clicking softly against her diamond earring.  
  
When he finally pulled back, Lorelai opened her eyes and asked, "Done?"  
  
Luke nodded. "For now."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay, let's go." They walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. The crowd had dispersed, and Lorelai looked at Luke with a shrug. "They must've gone back outside. Wanna go sit on the porch?"  
  
Luke glanced quickly toward Lane standing at the stereo, then nodded toward Lorelai. "Uh, yeah. . .I'll meet you out there. I'm just gonna, uh. . .use the bathroom first."  
  
"Okay." Lorelai walked out the front door, and Luke walked upstairs to their bedroom. He shut the door, then paced for a few minutes, mumbling to himself. Finally, he stopped, took a deep breath, walked over to his dresser and reached into the back of his bottom drawer.  
  
* * *  
  
A few minutes later, Luke walked downstairs and over to Lane at the stereo. "Uh, Lane?"  
  
Lane turned around and smiled. "Hey Luke." She noticed the CD in his hand. "Got a request?"  
  
Luke swallowed hard and nodded. "Uh, yeah, actually, I do." He handed her the CD.  
  
"Ooh, Sinatra." Lane smiled. "Good taste. Which one?"  
  
"Track four," Luke replied.  
  
"You got it," Lane said. "As soon as this song's over, I'll put it on."  
  
"Thanks." He walked out the side door and glanced around, finally spotting Lorelai standing near the front porch steps.  
  
He walked over to her and took her hand, pulling her away from the main crowd toward the chuppah on the side of the house. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "What are we doing all the way over here?"  
  
"Being alone," he replied. He glanced back toward the other guests, who were mostly gathered in the grass between their house and Babette's. "There're too many people over there."  
  
"Too many people for what?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"For me to talk to you." He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then opened them and said, "Look, I kind of need to say some things to you and I just want you to listen, okay?"  
  
Lorelai stared up at him suspiciously, but slowly nodded. "Okay."  
  
Luke swallowed hard, and a nervous feeling washed over him. He cleared his throat and, speaking softly and slowly, said, "I just. . .I want you to know that. . . I didn't think I could ever care for anyone as much as I care for you. I didn't know . . .that I was capable of loving someone so much."  
  
A chill ran through Lorelai's body and she started to open her mouth to respond, but Luke put a finger on her lips. "Shh, wait a second, okay?" he said softly. Lorelai nodded.  
  
Luke put his hands on her shoulders. "You're just. . . you're so incredible and so perfect, and the fact that you don't think you are makes it even more true." Lorelai smiled shyly and glanced down at the ground as Luke continued, "And sometimes I just look at you or I think about you and I . . ." He shook his head slightly. "I just can't believe how lucky I am."  
  
Lorelai glanced up at him and her smile widened. "My turn yet?"  
  
Luke smiled. "Almost." He turned and glanced toward the house as he heard the current song end, and he waited impatiently for the next song to start. When it did, he smiled to himself and turned back to her. "After the song."  
  
Lorelai recognized it immediately. She smiled and said, "This is. . ."  
  
"All the Way," Luke finished. "The first song we danced to together."  
  
Lorelai tilted her head and smiled at him. "Did you set this up?"  
  
Luke smiled as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his hands on the small of her back. She draped her arms over his shoulders and kissed him. "I love you."  
  
"Yeah. . .love you, too," he replied as she rested her chin on his shoulder.  
  
Lorelai glanced past him toward the crowd and watched the party through the porch railing. She could make out a few couples still dancing, but it appeared that most people were watching Sookie and Jackson as they resumed opening their gifts.  
  
Everything that Luke had just said to her was running through her head, and she was trying to find the right words to say back to him. As she was thinking, she saw Kirk walk out the front door with his camera, and she gestured for him to take a picture of the two of them dancing. He zoomed in on them and took the picture, then gave Lorelai a thumbs-up sign. She smiled and mouthed 'thank you' to him, and as he walked toward the crowd, she closed her eyes and rested her cheek against Luke's shoulder.  
  
A minute passed as the two of them continued dancing in the yard. . .separated from the rest of the crowd, just as Luke had planned it. Luke brought one hand up to stroke her ponytail as he stared at the chuppah right behind her. Many thoughts and emotions ran through him as he tried to find the right moment to do what he wanted to do.  
  
Finally, Luke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then brought his lips to her ear and whispered, "Lorelai?"  
  
Her eyes still closed, Lorelai muttered, "Hmm?"  
  
There was a brief pause as Luke swallowed, then he whispered, "I wanna marry you."  
  
Lorelai's eyes opened quickly and they widened as much as they could. She slowly pulled back from him. "Uh, what did you say?"  
  
"I said. . .that I want to marry you," he repeated slowly. He cleared his throat and said quietly, "I mean, marriage is right if you can find that one special person. . . and I was lucky enough to find her. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you."  
  
Lorelai took a few steps back and stared at him with confusion. "Luke, are you asking me . . ." Her voice trailed off as she watched him reach into his pocket and pull something out.  
  
She recognized the diamond ring - it was the one she had pointed out at the jewelry store just a few weeks ago. He held it out to her and it sparkled as the lights from the porch reflected off of it.  
  
Lorelai gasped and her lips started quivering. "Oh my God." Tears welled up in her eyes, and her entire body started to tremble.  
  
Luke took a step toward her. "Lorelai. . ."  
  
Lorelai clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God." The tears ran down her cheeks and her body suddenly felt completely numb. "Luke," she whispered, too choked up to speak in a normal voice.  
  
Luke smiled as he took another step toward her, and he reached out and took her left hand into his. He kissed the top of it before he brought his gaze up and stared into her eyes. "Lorelai, will you marry me?"  
  
Lorelai smiled through her tears as the words made goosebumps cover her body. She bit on her bottom lip as she sniffled a few times, then quickly nodded. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes, I'll marry you."  
  
Luke smiled and let out the breath he'd been holding. He slipped the ring onto her finger, and she stared down at it through her teary eyes. "Oh my God," she muttered. "I can't believe this is happening."  
  
Luke pulled her into an embrace and kissed her passionately, both of them tasting the saltiness of her tears. As their lips broke apart, she pressed her body tightly against his, not wanting to lose the comfortable feeling of his arms around her. "Is this just a dream?" Lorelai whispered.  
  
"I hope not, 'cause it'll probably be awhile before I can work up the nerve to do that again," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai smiled and buried her face against Luke's shoulder. He kissed the top of her head, then brought his hands up and ran them over her back. They stood holding each other for a few minutes before Lorelai looked up and stared over at the crowd. "Do you think anyone knows what just happened here?"  
  
"I don't know," Luke replied, craning his neck to look back at the people. "I don't think they can see us too well."  
  
"I don't think so, either," Lorelai replied. She pulled back from him and wiped her eyes. "I think the tears and the diamond ring might tip them off, though." She stared down at it. "This is so beautiful."  
  
"Does it fit okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," she replied. She lifted her head, and suddenly felt more tears in her eyes as she choked out, "It's perfect." She swallowed hard and hugged him again.  
  
After a few seconds, with her head resting against his chest, she said, "Luke. . .I thought you weren't ready. . .I thought you didn't want to rush into anything."  
  
Luke shrugged. "I know I said that, but then I had a little talk with Rory and. . .it made me realize some things."  
  
Lorelai pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. "A talk with Rory?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah. She asked me if I thought we'd get married eventually, and I said yes."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "She asked you that?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, and . . . then I was thinking, if I already knew in my heart that we'd get married eventually. . .why did I need more time to think about things? I mean, it's not rushing into it if we both want it and we're both ready for it, right?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "How'd you know I wanted it and was ready for it?"  
  
Luke smirked. "I sorta heard you tell Sookie that sometimes you pretend that we're married."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Oh my God, you heard that whole conversation?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "No, I only heard a few seconds of it. I came upstairs to get a towel and I heard you talking, then I went back downstairs before you guys heard me."  
  
Lorelai smacked him playfully on the shoulder. "I can't believe you were listening!"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Hey, no harm done, right?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Right." She pressed her lips against his and kissed him softly. As she pulled back, she glanced toward the crowd. She thought for a moment, then said, "Luke, I don't think we should tell everyone right now."  
  
Surprised, Luke raised his eyebrows. "You don't?"  
  
"No, not tonight. I mean, then this night won't be about Sookie and Jackson anymore, it'll be about us, and I don't wanna do that to them," Lorelai said, shaking her head.  
  
Luke nodded understandably. "Got it. . .but don't you wanna tell some people?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I wanna tell Rory and Sookie." She paused a moment, then added, "And I guess I should probably tell my mother, too. How can I just tell some people without everyone else finding out?"  
  
Luke thought for a moment, then said, "Okay, listen, you go upstairs, and I'll get Rory and Sookie and your mom to come up to our bedroom, and we can tell them and ask them to keep it a secret. . .okay?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay." She kissed him, and as she reluctantly pulled her lips away from his, she smiled. "I love you."  
  
"I love you, too," he said, hugging her tightly. They broke apart and headed toward the front of the house. As Lorelai walked up the front steps, Luke walked toward the crowd.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 46  
  
* * *  
  
As Lorelai was about to pull open the front door, she suddenly turned around. "Luke, wait."  
  
Luke walked back toward the porch. "What is it?"  
  
Lorelai lowered her voice. "Let's not mention why we don't want them to tell anyone. I know Sookie. . .she'll insist that it's no big deal and that it won't ruin her night and then she'll run out and tell people."  
  
"Okay, but what are you gonna say?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I'll think of something."  
  
Luke nodded. "We'll meet you upstairs."  
  
"Okay." Lorelai turned around and walked into the house.  
  
Luke walked over to the crowd and glanced around for Rory. He finally spotted her leaning against Babette's front porch watching Sookie and Jackson open presents. He walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.  
  
Rory turned around and smiled when she saw it was Luke. "Hey Luke. What's up?"  
  
"Uh, your mom kind of needs to talk to you upstairs," Luke said.  
  
Rory's eyes widened. "Is she okay?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, she's fine, she just . . . wants to talk to you."  
  
Rory shrugged. "Okay."  
  
"Can you find your grandmother?" Luke asked. "Lorelai wants to talk to her, too."  
  
Rory narrowed her eyes. "Wait, she voluntarily wants to talk to Grandma?" She put her hands on her hips. "Luke, what's going on?"  
  
"I can't say, but. . . she's waiting up in her bedroom for you," Luke said.  
  
Rory eyed him suspiciously, then slowly nodded. "Okay, I'll go find her."  
  
"Good, thanks."  
  
As Rory walked away, Luke walked toward Sookie and Jackson. He stood a few feet away and waited for them to finish opening the present they were unwrapping. As they tossed the wrapping paper aside and set the present down on the ground, Luke walked up to them. He leaned down next to Sookie and said quietly, "Uh, can you take a little break? Lorelai needs you."  
  
Sookie's eyes widened with concern. "Is she okay?" she whispered.  
  
"Yeah, she's fine," Luke replied. "It'll just take a few minutes."  
  
Sookie nodded and stood up. "Uh, we're gonna take a five minute break, guys," she announced to the crowd of people in front of her. She turned to Jackson. "I'll be right back."  
  
"Okay," Jackson replied.  
  
Sookie followed Luke up the side porch steps just as Emily and Rory were walking up the front steps. They met up at the front door, and Emily asked, "What's this about? Is everything okay?"  
  
"Yup, it's fine. Follow me." Luke walked into the house, and the three of them followed him.  
  
Upstairs, Lorelai was staring into her mirror, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. She glanced down at the ring on her finger. "Oh my God," she muttered. She reached over and felt the ring with her other hand, as if making sure it was real. She smiled to herself and shook her head slightly. "Oh my God."  
  
When she heard footsteps on the staircase, she turned around and stared at the door. When it opened, Luke poked his head through. "You ready?" he asked. Lorelai smiled and nodded, and he pushed the door open and stepped inside. Rory, Emily, and Sookie followed him in, and he closed the door behind them.  
  
Rory was the first to notice Lorelai's puffy eyes. Her eyes widened with concern and she walked over to Lorelai. "Mom, what's wrong? Are you okay?"  
  
"Lorelai, honey, what happened?" Sookie asked, walking over to her.  
  
"Nothing, I'm fine," Lorelai said, waving them off. She wiped her eyes with her right hand, keeping her left hidden behind her back. She took a deep breath and glanced over at Luke, who was leaning against the door with his hands shoved into his pockets.  
  
"Well, then what exactly is going on here?" Emily questioned, glancing from Lorelai to Luke.  
  
Lorelai slowly brought her left hand out from behind her back. She held it up in front of her at chest-level and wiggled her fingers, then smiled and said, "Luke asked me to marry him. . . we're engaged."  
  
Rory's eyes widened and she let out an excited shriek. "Oh my God!" She threw her arms around Lorelai's neck and hugged her tightly. Lorelai laughed and hugged her back, and as they began jumping up and down excitedly, Luke smiled to himself.  
  
Sookie gasped loudly and clapped a hand over her mouth. She screamed and quickly joined Lorelai and Rory in the hug, and the three of them continued jumping up and down.  
  
After the initial look of surprise faded, a smile slowly appeared on Emily's face as she watched them. "My goodness." She glanced over at Luke. "Well, I guess you weren't lying when you said you were both ready for bigger things."  
  
Luke smiled. "No, I wasn't."  
  
Emily extended her hand toward him, and he shook it. "Congratulations."  
  
"Thanks," Luke replied, glancing down at the floor with an embarrassed smirk.  
  
Emily turned back to Lorelai, and the three girls were examining the engagement ring. Emily walked over to them and placed her hand on Lorelai's forearm. "Congratulations, Lorelai."  
  
A teary-eyed Lorelai looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Mom." They stared at each other smiling for a few seconds, sharing a special moment that was very rare in their relationship. Lorelai finally blinked a few times and looked down toward her hand. "Uh, do you wanna see the ring?"  
  
Sookie and Rory were still gawking at it, and moved over slightly to let Emily take a peek. Emily smiled down at it. "It's lovely, Lorelai," she said softly, speaking with a compassionate tone that Lorelai wasn't used to hearing from her mother.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks, Mom."  
  
Rory stepped back from Lorelai and walked over to Luke by the door. She stood up on her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck. He hugged her back as she said, "Guess eventually came faster than you thought it would, huh? "  
  
Luke smiled. "Yeah, it sort of just snuck up on me."  
  
Rory smiled. "I'm glad it did." She pecked him on the cheek as she pulled back. "Congratulations."  
  
"Thanks," Luke replied.  
  
Rory walked back over to Lorelai as Sookie walked over and congratulated Luke with a hug. They talked for a few seconds while Rory hugged Lorelai again, and a smiling Emily looked on.  
  
As Rory and Lorelai broke apart, Sookie walked back over to them and grinned. "So, are you gonna go down and tell everyone else now?"  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath. "Uh, no, actually. . . we don't want to tell anyone yet. We wanted you guys to be the first to know, but that's it for now."  
  
"But when are you gonna tell people?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, probably tomorrow."  
  
Rory narrowed her eyes. "Tomorrow? That's only a few hours away, what's the big deal?"  
  
Lorelai sighed. "We just. . .we have reasons. We just wanna keep it quiet until then. No telling Dean or Lane or Jackson or anyone. . . okay?"  
  
Clearing his throat, Luke walked over and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we don't wanna have to deal with everything tonight. We'd rather wait for it to sink in before we have to start, ya know, talking to everyone about it and answering questions and stuff."  
  
Lorelai smiled at him and nodded. "Yeah, exactly, we just need a little time for ourselves." She turned back to the three of them. "Can you guys hold out until then?"  
  
All three of them nodded understandably.  
  
"Definitely," Rory said.  
  
"No problem, honey," Sookie said.  
  
"If that's what you want," Emily replied.  
  
"Good, thank you," Lorelai replied. She rubbed her eyes and sniffled. "I better clean myself up before I go back down there."  
  
"Oh, yes, we'll let you freshen up," Emily said. "Come on girls." Emily walked to the door and pulled it open. Sookie and Rory each gave Lorelai a hug before following Emily into the hallway and down the steps.  
  
Luke walked over and closed the door, then turned back to Lorelai. She smiled at him from across the room and held her arms out. He walked over to her and they hugged, resting their chins on each other's shoulders. "They took the news like I thought they would," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yeah, even your mom seemed happy about it."  
  
Lorelai smiled to herself. "Yeah. . . she did, didn't she?"  
  
"Mmhmm."  
  
Lorelai glanced down at her left hand, which was resting on Luke's back. She spread her fingers and looked at the ring. "God, I still can't believe it. I mean, wasn't it less than a year ago that you were lecturing me about how people weren't meant to mate for life? Man, I don't know if I can marry such a hypocrite."  
  
Luke pulled back from the hug. "Yeah, well. . .that was the Luke who was watching the woman he loved get slowly sucked away from him by a big-haired freak who read three different papers in the morning," he said, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai giggled and smacked his shoulder. "Hey now, be nice."  
  
Luke moved his hands to her waist and pulled her tightly against his body. He pressed his lips against hers, then pulled back and continued, "This is the new Luke. . .the one who finally has the girl and wants to make sure he ain't gonna lose her."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I'm pretty sure you're not gonna lose me."  
  
"Good."  
  
Lorelai shrugged and added, "Although, I was also pretty sure that that Frizz-Ease crap would work on my hair, and we all know how that experience turned out."  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Yeah, well. . .hopefully your judgment's improved since then."  
  
"Hopefully." Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him deeply, running her fingers over the stubble on his cheeks. As she pulled back from him, she said, "I'm gonna fix my makeup. I'll meet you downstairs."  
  
"Okay." Luke walked to the door and pulled it open. Lorelai turned around and watched him as he stepped out into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind him.  
  
* * *  
  
When Lorelai was sure that her face showed no signs of crying, she walked back downstairs. She went into the kitchen to get some food and noticed Rory's bedroom door was slightly open. She heard talking inside, and she pushed open the door to see who was in there. Rory and Emily were sitting on the bed talking.  
  
"What's going on?" Lorelai asked, startling them both. They turned toward the door, and both of them smiled when they saw Lorelai.  
  
"Mom!" Rory exclaimed, waving her over excitedly.  
  
Lorelai stepped into the room and walked over to them. "What's going on?" she repeated.  
  
"We're talking about your wedding," Emily whispered  
  
Rory smiled and nodded. "Grandma has a bunch of great ideas."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "Guys, come on. We've been engaged for fifteen minutes, it's certainly not time to start planning the wedding."  
  
"It's never too early to start, Lorelai," Emily said. "Now, what do you plan to serve as the main course?"  
  
"Grandma said she will seriously consider not coming if you serve burgers and fries at the reception," Rory added.  
  
"Well, then, burgers and fries it is," Lorelai said.  
  
Emily rolled her eyes. "Lorelai Gilmore, this is your wedding, not a child's birthday party," she said sternly.  
  
Lorelai groaned. "The operative word in that sentence being *your* as in. . .it's our wedding, not yours. . . we get to pick what to eat and how to decorate and what songs to dance to, so if we want to eat cheese doodles in a room decorated like a barn with real farm animals as we line dance for hours to Achy Breaky Heart to celebrate the occasion, then everyone just has to deal with it." She sighed and tilted her head to the side. "Come on, we just told you that we don't want to talk about anything wedding-related tonight. . .did you forget already?"  
  
Emily and Rory glanced at each other, then Rory turned to Lorelai and said, "Mom, the cheese doodles will totally stain your dress. You should go with pretzels. . .they're much cleaner."  
  
Lorelai threw her arms up with frustration. She walked to the door and stepped into the kitchen, then turned back to them and said, "Continue." She pulled the door shut, and Emily and Rory resumed talking.  
  
Lorelai grabbed a cookie from the table, then walked out the back door. Sookie and Jackson had resumed opening presents, and as Lorelai ladled herself some punch, she scanned the crowd for Luke. She didn't see him, so she walked toward the front of the house where she found him sitting on the front steps.  
  
She walked up behind him and pressed her knees against his back. "Hey you," she said, tapping him on the head.  
  
He looked up at her and smiled. "Hey."  
  
As she felt a cool breeze against her skin, she shivered. She held her drink toward him. "Can you hold this a second? I'm gonna get a coat."  
  
Luke nodded and took the cup. "Yeah."  
  
Lorelai walked into the house and grabbed her long black leather jacket from the coat hook in the front entryway. She walked back out as she pulled it on, then sat down next to Luke on the porch steps. He handed her the drink back. "Thanks."  
  
Luke leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "So. . ."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "How do you feel right now?"  
  
Luke exhaled. "Relieved."  
  
"Why - did you think I'd say no?" Lorelai asked, taking a sip of punch.  
  
"No, but. . .you know, there's always a chance that it won't go the way you want it to," Luke said with a shrug. Lorelai nodded in agreement. Luke leaned toward her and kissed her cheek. "How do you feel right now?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Amazing. . . .thrilled. . . ecstatic. . .I don't know how to describe it. It feels like a rush of excitement that's not going away. It's like I'm Belinda Carlisle and I just gave an incredible concert. Or I'm someone who makes Krispy Kreme donuts and I just made an absolutely perfect batch. Or I just won a game show called 'Who Wants to Marry a Hot, Sweet Diner Owner?'. Or I'm - "  
  
"Okay, okay!" Luke interrupted with a laugh. "Just summarize your feelings, please."  
  
Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him. She pulled her lips from his and whispered, "I'm happy."  
  
Luke smiled. "Good." They kissed again, and Luke seemed to forget that they were outside as he deepened the kiss by separating her lips with his tongue. Suddenly, someone coughed behind them and brought him back to reality. He quickly pulled back from her and they both turned their heads to find Rory and Emily standing near the front door.  
  
"Well, do you think you two can take a break long enough to say goodbye?" Emily asked.  
  
Luke's face reddened and he glanced away as Lorelai stood up. "Are you leaving, Mom?"  
  
"Yes. I didn't even plan on staying this late, but now it's really time for me to be heading home," Emily replied.  
  
"Oh, did you say goodbye to Sookie and Jackson?" Lorelai asked. She pointed toward the gift table. "They're right over there."  
  
"I'll go do that right now," Emily replied, walking toward the crowd.  
  
Lorelai smiled down at Luke. "Looks like you spilled some ketchup on your cheeks there. . .oh, wait, it's just your 'I'm deathly embarrassed' look."  
  
Rory smiled. "Aw, Mom, leave him alone."  
  
Lorelai leaned down and lowered her voice. "Luke, you do realize that when we're at our wedding, you'll have to kiss me in front of other people, don't you?"  
  
"There's no law that says the groom has to kiss the bride," Luke said, shaking his head. "The priest guy says you *may* kiss the bride. . . so maybe I'll choose not to take his suggestion at the moment, but to save it for another time when we have some more privacy."  
  
Lorelai gasped and hissed, "I'm not going to be the only bride in the history of the world who doesn't get kissed right after the ceremony!"  
  
"People are gonna hear you talking," he pointed out.  
  
Lorelai glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then turned back to Luke and frowned. "Luuuuke. . .please, please, please tell me you're kidding."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm kidding."  
  
"You promise?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I promise," he said, waving her off.  
  
"Cross your heart, hope to die, stick a needle in your eye?" Rory asked.  
  
Luke glanced at her and raised his eyebrows. "Uh, excuse me?"  
  
Emily walked back over to them. "Okay, I've said my goodbyes." She glanced at the three of them. "What's going on?"  
  
"Nothing, Mom," Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes. "Luke's just having trouble grasping some realities of life, such as the number one wedding tradition in the world."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Emily asked, glancing warily at Luke.  
  
"It's nothing, I was just joking around and someone. . ." Luke said, narrowing his eyes at Lorelai. ". . .took things too seriously."  
  
"Oh." Emily gave a confused glance toward Lorelai, then shrugged. "Okay, well, I'm going now. Bye Luke."  
  
"Take care," he replied.  
  
Emily walked down the porch steps, and Lorelai and Rory followed her to the car. "Uh, can you tell Dad for me when he gets home from his trip?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Emily tilted her head. "I think he'd much rather hear it from you, Lorelai."  
  
"You think?"  
  
"Of course he would," Emily replied. She pulled open the driver's side door, then turned around. She glanced toward Luke, then down at Lorelai's ring. She slowly brought her gaze up to meet Lorelai's. "I'm happy for you, Lorelai. I want you to know that."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Mom."  
  
Emily stared at her for a few seconds, a small smile on her lips. As she finally climbed into the car, she said, "And you don't have to worry about the wedding. . .Rory and I have everything all planned out." Emily winked at Rory. "Isn't that right?"  
  
Rory nodded and smiled. "Yup."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Bye Mom."  
  
"Bye Grandma," Rory said.  
  
"Bye girls," Emily replied as she pulled the door shut. She smiled and waved through the window, and the two girls walked back to the porch.  
  
* * *  
  
By eleven o'clock, most of the guests had departed, except for a few who stayed after to help clean up. Most of the smaller gifts were loaded into Sookie's car, and the rest were brought into the living room to be stored for the night.  
  
Sookie and Jackson were the last ones to leave, and Lorelai, Luke, and Rory walked them to their car. Luke shook hands with Jackson, then hugged Sookie. "Congratulations," Sookie whispered into his ear. He pulled away and smiled at her, nodding a thank you as he took a few steps back.  
  
Jackson hugged Rory and Lorelai, thanking them as he climbed into the driver's seat. The three girls walked over to the passenger side. Sookie took Lorelai's hands into hers. "This night was so incredible. . .thank you so much for putting it altogether."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed Sookie on the cheek. "You're welcome, Sookie. I'm glad you had a good time."  
  
Sookie smiled down at Lorelai's ring and gave a small shriek. "Oh my God, I still can't believe you're. . ." She glanced around and lowered her voice. ". . .engaged!"  
  
Lorelai giggled. "I know! It's one of those things where you think you're dreaming because you've imagined it happening so many times that you don't know if this is another one of those dreams, or if it's finally the real thing."  
  
Sookie lifted Lorelai's hand up and showed her the ring. "Trust me, this looks like the real thing. Rory, doesn't it look like the real thing?"  
  
"Yes, I'd have to agree that it does," Rory nodded.  
  
Lorelai smiled and pulled her hand away. "You can tell Jackson when you get home, okay?"  
  
Sookie bit her lip and glanced toward the car. "Um, okay, yeah. . .I'll do that."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Sookie. . . ."  
  
Sookie pulled open the passenger door. "It's getting late. Thanks again, you guys. We'll be over tomorrow to get the other gifts."  
  
"Sookie. . . " Lorelai repeated.  
  
Sookie climbed in the car and tried to shut the door, but Lorelai held onto the handle. She poked her head into the car and said, "Jackson, did she tell you already?"  
  
Jackson's eyes widened. "Uh, tell me what?" Lorelai saw his eyes glance down at her ring, then quickly divert away.  
  
"Sookie, you already told him?" Lorelai asked with a laugh.  
  
Sookie sighed and shrugged. "Lorelai, I'm sorry but it was too exciting! I couldn't keep it inside any longer. . .I was going to explode! I didn't tell anyone else, I promise."  
  
"Uh, congratulations, Lorelai," Jackson said. "Welcome to the world of being engaged."  
  
"Thanks, Jackson," Lorelai said. She rolled her eyes at Sookie. "So tell me, how long did you last?"  
  
Sookie wrinkled her nose. "About twenty minutes."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and patted Sookie on the shoulder. "Well, at least you tried." She stepped back from the car. "Bye guys."  
  
"See you tomorrow," Rory added.  
  
"Bye." Sookie pulled her door shut and waved through the window. As they pulled away, Lorelai and Rory walked across the yard to Luke.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 47  
  
* * *  
  
The three of them walked up the front steps and into the house. They stopped in the front entryway and Rory yawned loudly. "I'm so tired. I think I may need to be carried to my room." She wrapped her arms around Luke's arm and leaned against him. "Luke, you don't mind, do you?"  
  
"He probably doesn't, but I do," Lorelai said as she clutched onto his other arm. "He's only allowed to carry me places."  
  
"Someone's selfish," Rory said in a singsong voice.  
  
"Someone better start walking to their room before they fall asleep on someone else's fiancé's arm," Lorelai sang back.  
  
Rory picked up her head and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Fiancé. . .it has a nice ring to it."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it does." She paused a moment, then added, "Ooh! Plus, it rhymes with Beyoncé, so next time we're making rhyming poems about people in the music industry who severely deserve to be smacked, we'll have to remember that."  
  
"I'm putting it in the vault so I won't forget," Rory said, tapping her forehead.  
  
Luke stood quietly, turning his head back and forth between them as they spoke. He glanced down at his arms. "Okay, did you guys wanna let go today or are you gonna make me get physical?"  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, let's get physical. . . physical," she sang. "I wanna get physical. . . let's get into physical."  
  
"Let me hear your body talk," Rory sang. "Your body talk. . .let me hear your body talk."  
  
As they started singing the chorus a second time, Luke rolled his eyes and pulled his arms out of their grips. As he walked toward the staircase, Lorelai stopped in mid-song and asked, "Where ya going?"  
  
"As far away from your singing as possible," he replied.  
  
Lorelai frowned and turned to Rory. "He doesn't like our singing."  
  
"But how could he not like our singing?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know." She and Rory wandered toward the kitchen and into Rory's bedroom. Lorelai lay down on the bed as Rory walked over to her dresser and pulled out her pajamas. She began changing as Lorelai stared up at the ceiling. A few seconds went by before Lorelai lifted her hand up in front of her face and stared at her ring.  
  
Rory glanced over at her and smiled. "You've been doing that all night."  
  
"I know, I can't help it," Lorelai replied. She rested her hand on her stomach and smiled. "Rory. . ."  
  
"What?" she replied as she buttoned up her pajama top.  
  
"I'm so excited."  
  
Rory smiled. "I know, I can tell."  
  
"What about you?"  
  
"What about me?"  
  
"Are you happy about all this?" Lorelai asked hesitantly.  
  
"Are you kidding?" Rory walked over and sat down next to Lorelai. "I'm thrilled. I can't remember smiling so much in one night before."  
  
Lorelai propped herself up on her elbows. "Really?"  
  
"I swear." Rory nodded. "Why are you even asking me this anyway? You know how I feel about Luke," she replied. "He's like . . .a dad to me. I mean, he was like one before you two even started going out, and now he's just. . .even more like one."  
  
"I know," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Plus, he's already living here, so it's sort of like you're married already anyway," Rory said with a shrug.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it is." She stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds, then sat up and hugged Rory tightly. "Mmkay, I'm going to bed."  
  
"Night, Mom," Rory replied.  
  
"Night." Lorelai climbed off the bed and walked out of the bedroom. She shut the kitchen light off and walked into the living room, shutting those lights out as well before she headed up the steps. She stopped to use the bathroom first, then removed her makeup and brushed her teeth before she walked into the bedroom.  
  
Luke was sitting on the edge of the bed taking his socks and shoes off. Lorelai shut and locked the door, then walked over to him. "Hi."  
  
"Hey."  
  
Lorelai ran her fingers through his hair. "So, the party was a success."  
  
"Yeah, I'd say so."  
  
Luke watched as Lorelai walked over to the mirror and pulled her ponytail holder out. She slipped off her shoes and kicked them toward the closet, then took off the bracelet she was wearing and set it on her dresser.  
  
"Can you help me with this zipper?" She turned around and faced away from him.  
  
"Yeah." Luke stood up and walked up behind her. He pulled her dress zipper down her back and helped slide the dress down her body. She stepped out of it, and Luke picked it up and tossed it on the vanity chair, then unclasped her strapless bra and let it drop to the floor.  
  
"Mm, feels good to finally be out of that," Lorelai mumbled, reaching her arms behind her to rub her back.  
  
Luke pushed her hands aside and replaced them with his own, rubbing his hands gently over her back. Lorelai tilted her head down toward the floor and closed her eyes as his warm hands glided over her.  
  
After a few minutes, his hands moved around to her front, gliding over her hips and stomach before slowly moving upward. As he pressed his body up against hers, Lorelai smiled and opened her eyes. "Luke?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Is that my curling iron in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"  
  
Luke turned her body around so she was facing him, and he kissed her deeply. He pulled back and smiled. "What do you think?"  
  
"I think that . . .you don't have much need for a curling iron," she replied.  
  
"Good answer." He kissed her again as he ran his hands over her shoulders and down her arms.  
  
Lorelai pulled back and said, "You know, I heard a rumor that 'we just got engaged' sex is even better than makeup sex."  
  
"Oh yeah?"  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "No, I made that up, but I would think it would be true, wouldn't you?"  
  
Luke smirked. "Well, only one way to find out, huh?"  
  
"Guess so," Lorelai said with a nonchalant shrug. She smiled and pressed her lips against his. His hands resumed their exploration, running over the smooth skin of her body as Lorelai slid her hands up his shirt and ran them over his chest. "Mm, I love your muscles."  
  
"I know."  
  
She slid her hands down to his stomach. "I love your abs."  
  
"I know."  
  
She slid her hands around to his back and moved them downward over his soft black pants. She giggled and said, "I love your butt."  
  
Luke smiled. "I know."  
  
Lorelai tilted her head. "Huh, well, aren't you Mr. I-Know-Everything?" She kissed him passionately as her hands moved to the bottom of his shirt. He pulled back and let her pull it up over his head. She dropped it on the floor, then ran her hands over his chest. She brought her gaze up to meet his and said, "You know what else I love?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Lorelai whispered something into his ear as she slid her hands down and started to unbuckle his belt.  
  
When she pulled back, Luke had a sly grin on his face. "Geez. . .you kiss your daughter with that mouth?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and shook her head. "No, this mouth is only used with you. I remove this one and put on another one when I'm with her. . .you know, sort of like Mrs. Potato Head."  
  
"Ah, got it," Luke replied, nodding understandably. "Good thing."  
  
"Yeah." Lorelai pulled his belt out of the loops and dropped it to the floor. . .  
  
* * *  
  
He collapsed on top of her, kissing her deeply as she ran her hands over his back. They pulled apart, both of them gasping for breath. They lay silently for almost a minute before Luke rolled off of her and onto his back. She turned onto her side to look at him, and she pressed her forehead against his arm. "Oh my God."  
  
"If I'd known it would've been like that, I would've proposed weeks ago," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai lifted her head and smiled at him. "Definitely better than makeup sex."  
  
"No question," he replied with a nod.  
  
"Too bad you can only have 'we just got engaged' sex once," Lorelai said with a disappointed sigh.  
  
"Yeah." Luke adjusted himself on the bed so he could put his arm around her, and she snuggled up against his chest.  
  
"But we can still do things with it," Lorelai said. "Like tomorrow we can have 'this is the first Sunday we're spending together as an engaged couple' sex. . .we can do that for every day of the week. Ooh, and we can do it with all types of things like food and TV shows and movies. . .like, we can have 'this is the first time we've watched Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as an engaged couple' sex. . . stuff like that. It could go on forever and ever."  
  
"Interesting idea," Luke commented.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"I don't think that giving it a fancy name having to do with being engaged will make it as good as this time, but we'll see how it goes," Luke said.  
  
"Yeah. . .we'll see how it goes." Lorelai pulled the comforter up over them, then rested her head back against his chest. "Luke, tell me a story."  
  
"About?"  
  
"About. . . when you decided to propose . . .how you decided where to do it, and . . . just everything else that goes along with you deciding to do it," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke groaned. "Right now?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You wanna hear all about it right now?" he asked. "I'm kinda tired."  
  
"Well, how 'bout just the Cliffs' Notes version, then?"  
  
He sighed. "I'll give you a very brief summary."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome." He reached down under the covers and found her hand, and laced his fingers through hers. "Uh, let's see. . .well, in the jewelry store that day, when the whole marriage idea first came up and you told me that you weren't ready to talk about it. . .I knew you were lying."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "You did? How?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I could just see it in your eyes, I could tell you'd thought about it. . . .so then I started thinking about it more, and I started feeling like it was something I wanted. . ."  
  
"But what about -," Lorelai started.  
  
"Forget all the stupid stuff I said last year about marriage. That's something lonely guys say when they don't think they'll find someone."  
  
Lorelai frowned slightly. "Aw, I feel bad thinking about you being lonely."  
  
"Well, I ain't lonely now, so don't sweat it," Luke replied. "Anyway, so I finally realized that I wanted it, but decided not to rush into anything. . .and then I heard you talking to Sookie, then I had that talk with Rory and . . ."  
  
"Good kid," Lorelai interjected.  
  
"Yes, she is," he agreed. "And that just made me realize for sure that . . . we're both ready."  
  
"Yes, we are," she said quietly.  
  
"So I went out, bought the ring, hid it in my drawer, and waited for the right moment," Luke continued.  
  
"When did you buy the ring?" she asked.  
  
"Last Friday," he replied. "And we've been busy with the shower and everything since then, so there wasn't really a good time to do it. Then in the middle of the shower, I suddenly. . ."  
  
"Felt a vibe?" she suggested.  
  
"I don't use that word."  
  
"Had an epiphany?"  
  
"Or that one."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Had a thought?"  
  
"Yeah, that's better," he replied. "I had a thought that tonight might be a good time. . .with the music playing, both of us dressed up nice. . .it just seemed like a good setup."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "It was the perfect setup." She lifted her head up from his chest and kissed him, then pulled back and said, "Luke?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You asked me to marry you."  
  
"I know."  
  
"And I said yes."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Do you know what that means?"  
  
"Uh, that we're. . . getting married?" Luke suggested.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "We're getting married."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 48  
  
* * *  
  
Lorelai rested her head against Luke's chest and sighed softly. They were quiet for a few minutes as Luke stroked Lorelai's hair and she ran her hand over his stomach.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" Luke asked.  
  
"I'm running down the list of places I would be most likely to lose this ring so that if I do ever lose it, I'll know where to check first," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Way to plan ahead," he commented.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"You might be better off just gluing it to your finger," Luke said.  
  
"Hm, I don't really think glue goes well with white gold and diamonds," Lorelai replied. "What else?"  
  
"Uh. . .staples?"  
  
"Too painful."  
  
"Duct tape?" Luke suggested. "You can fix anything with that stuff."  
  
"You wouldn't be able to see the ring," Lorelai replied. "Scotch tape might work, though, because it's clear."  
  
"Scotch tape it is," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay, we'll do that first thing in the morning."  
  
"I'll probably be gone before you're awake," Luke said with a yawn. "I have to open up tomorrow."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Aw, that sucks." She lifted her head up and looked at him. "Kiss me goodbye tomorrow morning before you leave, okay?"  
  
Luke smiled and pushed her hair away from her face. "I always do."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "'Night." She rested her head back against his chest.  
  
Luke kissed the top of her head. "'Night."  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai wandered into the kitchen and found Rory peering into the fridge. "Morning, hon," Lorelai greeted her.  
  
Rory glanced over and smiled. "Hey Mom. How's it going?"  
  
"Good. Looking for something to eat?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yup. Is Luke here?"  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Nope, we have to get our own breakfast today." Lorelai walked up behind her and they both stared into the fridge for a few seconds. "Hmm."  
  
Rory shut the door. "Diner?"  
  
"Diner," Lorelai agreed.  
  
They walked out the back door and headed toward the diner. As they neared the town square, they noticed a group of people gathered near the gazebo.  
  
"What's going on there?" Rory asked.  
  
"I don't know," Lorelai replied. "Probably another one of Taylor's spur-of- the-moment fundraisers." Curious, she kept her eye on the group as they approached the diner, and from their new angle of the gazebo, noticed Sookie standing in front of the crowd.  
  
Sookie looked over and saw the girls. "They're here! Lorelai! Rory!" she yelled, clapping excitedly. The group of people turned to look at them.  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Oh no, hurry up." She grabbed Rory's arm and they hurried toward the diner as the crowd started rushing toward them.  
  
They burst into the diner and slammed the door behind them, startling not only the other customers but also Luke at the counter, making him spill the coffee he was pouring. "Jesus!" he exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing?"  
  
They ran over and stood with him behind the counter. "Look," Rory told him, shaking a finger toward the window.  
  
He followed her gaze and saw the group of people walking toward the door. "What do they want?"  
  
Lorelai held up her left hand. "I have a strong feeling that they wanna see this."  
  
"So go out and show 'em so they don't all try to cram in here," Luke grumbled as he wiped up the counter with a dishtowel.  
  
"No way - I'm not gonna stand out there all alone while they barrage me with questions. We're in this together."  
  
Sookie walked into the diner while the impatient crowd waited outside on the sidewalk. "Lorelai, didn't you hear me call you?" Sookie asked.  
  
"Uh, no Sookie, didn't hear a thing," Lorelai replied. "You know, the birds were chirping pretty loudly out there."  
  
Sookie rolled her eyes. "Right."  
  
Lorelai nodded toward the people. "Do they know?"  
  
Sookie shook her head. "Not yet, I just told them that Luke had something to tell them about the diner and that he wouldn't tell anyone until you two got here."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "About the diner?"  
  
"Why'd you say that?" Luke asked.  
  
"Because if I told them it had to do with you two," Sookie said, gesturing to Luke and Lorelai, "it would've given it away, but by saying it had to do with the diner. . . "  
  
"It leads them down the wrong track so they don't start speculating and ruin the surprise," Rory finished.  
  
"Exactly," Sookie said.  
  
"You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?" Lorelai asked, smiling.  
  
Sookie nodded. "Yes. . .now come on, they're waiting." She turned and walked toward the door, announcing, "Just a minute, everyone!" as she stepped outside.  
  
Lorelai turned to Luke and smiled. "Our public awaits. Let's go."  
  
"No, your public awaits," he corrected her. "I have work to do." He started walking toward the kitchen.  
  
Lorelai grabbed his arm. "Get over here, coffee boy." She dragged him toward the door and Rory followed behind them. They stepped out onto the sidewalk and the crowd gathered around them.  
  
"What is it? We're dying here!" Patty exclaimed.  
  
"Come on, gorgeous, fill us in," Babette urged.  
  
"Tell us what it is already!" a man called from the back.  
  
"Do you need more waiters?" Kirk asked. "I'm always looking for another job."  
  
As Luke rolled his eyes, Lorelai clapped her hands. "Uh, okay, listen up everyone, listen up!" The crowd quieted down and focused their attention on Lorelai. "Nothing is happening with the diner. The announcement doesn't have to do with the diner - it has to do with me and Luke."  
  
As a murmur ran through the crowd, Lorelai laced her fingers through Luke's and smiled. "Uh, Luke and I. . . are engaged. We're getting married."  
  
Several gasps erupted from the crowd, followed by excited shrieks from Miss Patty and Babette. Several people called out "Congratulations!" as others started clapping. The troubadour, leaning against the crosswalk sign, broke into an acoustic version of "Chapel of Love." People started crowding closer around them, offering hugs and well-wishes. Though it wasn't his thing to be the center of attention, Luke stayed by Lorelai's side, shaking hands and thanking people.  
  
After a few minutes, most of the crowd had dispersed except for a group of women who had gathered around Lorelai. Luke leaned against the front window of the diner with his arms folded across his chest, watching with a smile as she excitedly showed off her ring.  
  
The diner door opened and Jess walked out. He narrowed his eyes at Luke. "Forget how to get inside?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What are you doing out here?"  
  
Luke gestured toward Lorelai. "I'm waiting for her."  
  
Jess glanced toward the women. "What are they doing?"  
  
"Uh, we sort of got engaged last night," Luke explained. "She's showing them the ring."  
  
Jess was silent for a moment as he watched the women. "Huh."  
  
"You don't seem too surprised," Luke commented.  
  
"Yeah, well. . . it's not like everyone didn't see it coming," Jess said with a shrug. "I did."  
  
"How could you possibly see it coming? You're never around us."  
  
Jess rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, the jewelry store receipt was a pretty good tip."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes. "What?"  
  
"You left the bag in the glove compartment of the truck. Two thousand bucks seems kind of expensive for just a ring, but . . .what do I know?" Jess said with a smirk.  
  
Luke scoffed. "It wasn't two thousand dollars."  
  
"Well, it was pretty damn close to it," Jess remarked.  
  
"Hey, it's none of your business how much anything I buy costs," Luke said sternly. "What were you doing going through the glove compartment anyway?"  
  
"It's a glove compartment, so I guess I was looking for gloves," he replied. "I was hoping to borrow those ones you wear with the fingertips cut off. I hear the girls just go nuts for 'em."  
  
"Jess," Luke warned.  
  
Jess rolled his eyes. "I was just putting some things in there while I ran into the mall, okay? I've heard you can't leave things out on the seat in Hartford like you can here in Mayberry."  
  
Luke pursed his lips. "Uh huh. Well, next time don't go through my personal stuff."  
  
"Why'd you have it in there anyway?" Jess asked.  
  
"I didn't wanna bring the whole bag in the house so I just put the ring in my pocket and shoved the bag in the glove box," he replied. "Then I sort of forgot about it, I guess."  
  
"Yeah, well, if I were you I would've just gone for a coffee-flavored Ring Pop and saved a couple thou," Jess said with a shrug.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Don't you have somewhere to go?"  
  
"Actually I do," Jess replied. He started walking down the sidewalk, then slowed his pace down and turned around. "Hey."  
  
Luke, who had turned his attention back toward the girls, turned to Jess. "What now?"  
  
Jess shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking backward. He glanced at Lorelai, then nodded toward Luke. "Uh. . . you know. . .congratulations," he said in a quiet, almost embarrassed tone.  
  
Luke glanced toward the ground, then gave him an appreciative nod. "Thanks." As Jess turned and walked away, Luke brought his attention back to Lorelai. The crowd has lessened, and she was now just surrounded by Rory, Sookie, Babette and Patty.  
  
He walked over to them and placed his hand on the small of Lorelai's back. She turned to him and smiled, and as he glanced around, he noticed all the girls grinning at him. He let out a small laugh. "What?"  
  
Patty sighed. "Well, dear, we already knew you were one of the sexiest men in Stars Hollow, and we know you're one of the quietest - but who would've thought that you'd be the most romantic?"  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at Lorelai. "What did you tell them?"  
  
"About the whole proposal, doll. How you led her away from the crowd . . ." Babette started.  
  
". . . over to the chuppah. . ." Rory continued.  
  
" . . . and waited for the Sinatra song to play . . . " Sookie finished with a sigh.  
  
As they all stared at him smiling, Luke groaned. "Why'd you tell them all the details?"  
  
"So they could all be jealous of what a great guy I found," Lorelai said, pinching his cheek. He pulled back from her and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Aw, come on, Luke," Rory said. "It's one of the best moments a girl will ever have in her entire life, she has to share it with people."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Luke replied with a sigh. He turned back to Lorelai. "You go walk around town telling your story, I have to get back inside."  
  
"Mmkay," Lorelai replied. "We'll be in soon to eat breakfast." As she kissed him on the cheek, a collective "aww" rang from the girls.  
  
Lorelai giggled as Luke's face reddened and he pulled back from her. "See you later," he mumbled. He avoided eye contact with the others as he turned and walked back into the diner.  
  
* * *  
  
That afternoon, Sookie and Jackson came over to pick up the rest of their shower gifts. Lorelai and Rory helped them load up the SUV, and when it was filled to capacity, Lorelai invited them in for a drink.  
  
They went into the house, and as Jackson and Sookie sat down on the couch, Rory and Lorelai walked into the kitchen. They grabbed a few cans of soda from the refrigerator and brought them back to the living and handed them out.  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, hey - we have cookies leftover from yesterday. Who wants some?"  
  
"Me, please," Rory replied.  
  
"I'd love some," Jackson replied.  
  
Sookie stood up. "Here, I'll help you." She set her soda on the coffee table and followed Lorelai into the kitchen.  
  
Lorelai grabbed two platters of cookies from the counter and set them on the table. "Can you get a plate from the cupboard?"  
  
"Sure," Sookie replied. She walked over to the cabinet and pulled one out, then giggled as she walked it over to the table. "I can't picture Luke eating off of a Charlie's Angels plate."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, the first time he had to do it, his face was sort of red like he was embarrassed or something. . .but he got used to it." She pulled the aluminum foil back from one of the platters and began transferring some of the cookies to the plate. Sookie opened the other platter and did the same.  
  
Lorelai brushed the crumbs off of her hands and cleared her throat. "Uh, Sookie?"  
  
"Yeah?" she replied, arranging the cookies on the plate.  
  
"Um, I know that this is kind of a given and everything since you're my best friend and I asked you this - as strange as it sounds - the last time I got engaged," Lorelai said. "But I just . . .feel like I should ask you again. . ."  
  
Sookie turned to look at her. "Ask me what?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and fingered the bottom of her tank top. "Um . . .if you'll be one of my bridesmaids. . .again?"  
  
Sookie smiled. "Aww, of course, honey." She wiped her hands off on her jeans and reached up to hug Lorelai.  
  
"Thank you, Sookie," Lorelai said, hugging her tightly. "And don't worry - this time there'll actually be a wedding."  
  
Sookie giggled as she pulled back. "I hope so." She turned back to finish organizing the cookies.  
  
"And. . .uh, I don't want you to feel you have to do all the traditional bridesmaid things this time," Lorelai said.  
  
"What do you mean?" Sookie asked.  
  
"I mean, the big party with the tons of people and the food and . . .just all the trouble you went through for the shower last year - you don't have to do it again this time," Lorelai said, shaking her head.  
  
Sookie frowned. "Why not?"  
  
"Because. . .I don't know, it just seems selfish to have another one," Lorelai replied. "Plus, this year you have all your own wedding and marriage-type stuff to worry about. . .I just don't want you to go to the trouble."  
  
"It won't be any trouble," Sookie insisted. "I love planning parties!"  
  
"I know you do, but. . .we don't really need any presents anyway - we're already living together, we have everything we need."  
  
"But it's not just about the presents! It's about people getting together to celebrate with you, to share this huge incredible event with you," Sookie said.  
  
"I know, but they'll be able to do that at the wedding," Lorelai reminded her. "And you know how Luke is - he hates attention. He may have come around on the idea of marriage, but I still think he hates the idea of a big wedding ceremony and so. . . the shower's probably not something he'd look forward to anyway. So, to save you a lot of trouble, and to keep this town from thinking that I get engaged every summer to have a big party, it'll be easier if we pass on the huge wedding shower this time."  
  
Sookie frowned, but reluctantly nodded. "Okay, no big wedding shower."  
  
Lorelai patted her on the shoulder. "Aw, come on - cheer up. We'll let you have full control over the rehearsal dinner, okay?"  
  
Sookie slowly smiled. "Really?"  
  
"You got it," Lorelai replied, smiling. "Plus, there's still the bachelorette party - we can still have another one of those."  
  
Sookie giggled. "Right."  
  
"See . . .it'll be fun," Lorelai assured her.  
  
Rory walked into the kitchen. "Hello - what's taking so long? Did you decide to bake the cookies from scratch instead?"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Patience, please."  
  
Rory grabbed a cookie from the plate. "Well, when you said you were going to go get some cookies, you led us to believe that you'd go get the cookies and then return with them, not stand in here and eat all of them yourself."  
  
Lorelai picked up the plate. "Here, psychotic cookie-obsessed girl who . . . totally inherits that trait from me, take them."  
  
Rory took the plate. "Thank you." She turned and walked back to the living room.  
  
* * *  
  
The next afternoon, Lorelai and Rory walked from the inn to the diner for lunch. As they sat down at an empty table, Kirk walked over from the counter. "Lorelai, good, I was hoping you'd be here."  
  
"I'm always here, Kirk," Lorelai replied. "What can I do for ya?"  
  
"I just wanted to let you know that the pictures from the shower should be ready by tomorrow," Kirk said.  
  
"Oh, cool!" Rory said excitedly.  
  
"Wow, that was fast," Lorelai replied. "Great Kirk, how much will I owe you?"  
  
"I haven't figured out the exact price yet, but I estimate that it'll be in the neighborhood of forty dollars," Kirk replied. "I won't charge you for the half roll I took of Babette's gnomes since they're for my own. . . uh, personal collection."  
  
Lorelai and Rory glanced at each other warily.  
  
Kirk's eyes glazed over as he stared toward the window. "There's just something about those little guys that are so. . .intriguing." He shook his head slightly and brought his gaze back down to Lorelai. "You know what I mean?"  
  
"Uh, sure, Kirk," Lorelai replied. "Did you get any pictures of me?"  
  
"Uh, yes, actually, I did," he said. "There are a couple of you and Luke, some of you talking to Sookie. . ."  
  
"Any of me and Mom?" Rory asked.  
  
"Yeah, remember we took one by the drinks," Lorelai reminded her.  
  
"There were a couple others of you two, too," Kirk said. "I'll bring them all by tomorrow."  
  
"Okay," Lorelai replied. "Thanks Kirk."  
  
Kirk nodded toward them and returned to the counter, passing Luke on the way. As Luke reached their table, he gestured toward Kirk. "What did he want?"  
  
"Hi, nice to see you, too," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hi," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "What did he want?"  
  
"He wanted to tell me that the pictures from the shower are almost done," Lorelai replied as a phone started ringing. "Ooh, that's me." She reached down into her purse.  
  
"Take it outside," Luke said sternly.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes as she pulled the phone out. "Or what?" she prompted him. "Are you gonna ban your fiancée from your diner? Ooh, no, are you gonna get really mad and take the ring back?" she asked with a laugh.  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "Hmm." He glanced down toward the ring, as if he was considering it.  
  
Lorelai gasped and she hid her left hand under the table. "Don't even think about it!" Luke smirked and sat down at the table. Lorelai glanced down at the phone to see who it was, then made a face. "Ugh, it's my mom." She answered the phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Lorelai, how are you?" Emily asked.  
  
"Uh, I'm good Mom. . . how are you?"  
  
"Oh, fine, just fine," Emily replied. "Listen, when are you going to tell your father about the engagement?"  
  
"I don't know, Mom," Lorelai replied. "I guess on Friday when I see him."  
  
"Lorelai, you can't wait the entire week!" Emily exclaimed. "I don't want to have to keep it from him for that long."  
  
"Then don't keep it from him," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "I already told you that you could tell Dad about the proposal yourself."  
  
Luke, who had been listening to the conversation, shook his head. Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him and said, "Hold on a sec, Mom." She covered the phone with her hand and said, "What?"  
  
"You can't make your mother tell your father that you're getting married," Luke said. "That's something you should do yourself."  
  
"But I - " Lorelai started.  
  
"He'd rather hear it from you," Rory interrupted.  
  
Lorelai frowned and let out a long sigh. "Fine." She put the phone back up to her ear. "Still there, Mom?"  
  
"Yes, is there a reason you put me on hold?" Emily asked in an irritated tone.  
  
"Yeah, I wanted to make you crabby," Lorelai replied. "Oh look, it worked."  
  
Emily sighed. "Lorelai, like I was saying, your father would - "  
  
"Much rather hear it from me," Lorelai finished. "I know, I know - that's the word on the street, apparently." She sighed and tapped her fingernails on the table for a few seconds, then said, "Okay, how 'bout we'll stop by tomorrow night after dinner and tell him?"  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "We?" he whispered.  
  
"We?" Emily asked.  
  
"Yes, me, Luke, and Rory'll stop by tomorrow night, okay?" Lorelai said, giving a pointed look toward Luke and Rory.  
  
"Well, I guess that'll be fine," Emily said.  
  
"Okay, see you then." Lorelai hung up the phone with a sigh. "Now I have to drive all the way out to Hartford just to say, 'Hey Dad, I'm getting married.'"  
  
"Well, maybe we can do something afterwards," Rory suggested. "Like go to a movie or something."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, that'll be fun! What do you say, Luke?"  
  
He shrugged. "Sure, whatever you want."  
  
"Coolness, now I'm excited," Lorelai said, rubbing her hands together.  
  
Luke stood up. "Okay, what do you guys want for lunch? Burgers?"  
  
"Yes, please," Rory replied.  
  
"Yeah, and coffee," Lorelai replied. As Luke walked to the counter, Lorelai slipped her cell phone back into her purse. "Oh, we have to call Chris sometime soon and set up your next trip."  
  
"Oh, right. . .yeah," Rory said, nodding. She paused a moment before she asked, "Are you gonna tell him about you and Luke?"  
  
"Ever?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"No, I mean. . .when you talk to him," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. . . if the question comes up."  
  
"Does the question, 'So, are you engaged yet?' come up often when you guys chat?" Rory asked, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Not as much as the question, 'How did we get such an annoying daughter?'" Lorelai retorted. As Rory stuck her tongue out, Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "No, I don't know. . .maybe I'll mention it, maybe I won't. . .it depends on how the conversation's going and whether he's in a rush or something."  
  
"What are you guys talking about?" Luke asked, setting two cups of coffee on the table.  
  
"About telling Christopher about the engagement," Lorelai replied.  
  
Luke adjusted his cap. "Oh."  
  
"We have to call and set up my next visit, so I asked if that's when Mom was gonna tell him," Rory explained.  
  
"Are you?" Luke asked.  
  
"I don't know yet," Lorelai replied. "It's no big deal. I might just wait until he comes to pick Rory up."  
  
Luke nodded, then turned and walked back to the counter. Lorelai tapped her hands on the table a few times, then said, "Hey, what's the date today?"  
  
Rory glanced up toward the ceiling as she thought for a moment. "Hm, the fifteenth, I think."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Wow, summer's just flying by, huh? I can't believe it's August fifteenth already!"  
  
"Uh, that's because it's July fifteenth, Mom," Rory informed her.  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "July?"  
  
"Yeah, it's the month squeezed in between June and August."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Thank you, wise one. Sometimes I get my months confused, but I'm good now. July. . it's July. . .got it."  
  
"Maybe you can install a little calendar on that center diamond, there," Rory suggested, pointing to Lorelai's ring.  
  
Lorelai smiled down at it. "Good idea." She stared at it for a few seconds, then made a fist and said, "This makes me feel powerful. You know how diamonds cut glass?"  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
Lorelai waved her fist through the air. "Well, it's like I'm a superhero who can use her super-powered diamond ring to instantly protect the city from evil enemies made of glass."  
  
Rory nodded. "Uh huh. . .that's pretty important because in today's society you do run into a lot of . . .uh, glassblown adversaries."  
  
Lorelai nodded excitedly. "Exactly! Now we have to think up a name for me. . . what's a good superhero-ish name?"  
  
"Wonder Woman?" Rory suggested.  
  
"Already taken. . .and the last thing I need is Lynda Carter suing me for copyright infringement," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory thought for a moment. "Hm. . .Glassblower Gal?"  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Glassblower Gal? Are you serious?"  
  
Rory laughed. "Yeah. what's wrong with it?"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "That totally gives the glass people the wrong impression of my superheroic talents! We want them to think that I'll destroy them, not take 'em to a motel to reenact scenes from a dirty movie - "  
  
"Stop there!" Rory begged.  
  
" - called Fellatio Hornblower," Lorelai finished.  
  
Rory groaned. "Mom, gross!"  
  
Lorelai giggled and took a sip of her coffee. She set the cup back down and sighed. "All right, we'll try to think up a name later. It's hard to do on an empty stomach."  
  
"Everything's hard to do on an empty stomach," Rory said. "That's why you should always try to stay full."  
  
"Amen," Lorelai agreed.  
  
* * *  
  
That night in their bedroom, with the covers pulled up over them, Lorelai lay on top of Luke. He caressed her back as she kissed across his chest. She moved down to his stomach, her head disappearing completely under the covers. She ran her tongue over his abs and nipped at his flesh with her teeth. She kissed her way back up and sucked lightly on his neck before she moved her mouth to his lips and kissed him deeply.  
  
As she pulled back, she noticed a pensive look on his face. She rested her chin on his chest and asked, "What are you thinking about?"  
  
Luke glanced toward the closet, mumbling, "Nothing."  
  
She narrowed her eyes and turned his face back toward her. "Luke, if you were to rest your chin on your fist you could pass for a Rodin sculpture. . .you're obviously thinking about something. What is it?"  
  
Luke stared into her eyes for a moment, then sighed and said, "I'm just thinking about. . . Christopher."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened with surprise. "Uh, do you normally think about him right after we have sex?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "Not usually. . .just tonight"  
  
Lorelai rolled off of him and sat up. "What's going on?" She pulled the blanket up around her body.  
  
Luke sat up and leaned against the headboard. "I was just thinking about when you were talking about telling him about the engagement. . . and that led me to think about . . .other stuff."  
  
"Other stuff. . .about Christopher?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What kind of other stuff?" she asked. "Bad other stuff?"  
  
"Just. . .I don't know, other stuff," he replied. "Forget it."  
  
"I'm just curious, come on," Lorelai urged.  
  
Luke gestured aimlessly as he spoke, "It's just. . .I think he. . . I don't . . ." He shrugged and said, "I don't know. The guy just. . .ugh." He pursed his lips and shook his head.  
  
"Wait - do you not like Christopher?" Lorelai interrupted. "I thought you liked him."  
  
"I don't know. . .he's nice and all, but I don't really have a lot of respect for someone who acts like he does," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Acts like what? What are you talking about?"  
  
"I'm talking about the way he decided to just. . .get you pregnant and then leave you with a kid to raise all alone," Luke said angrily. "That's not how it's done. Even if he despised you more than Satan - which, I should add, he didn't - and even if you didn't want him to be around, he still should've done whatever he could have to help take care of you - end of story." He shook his head in disbelief. "Even if you told him to his face that you never wanted to see him again, he still should've found a way to take responsibility for his actions!"  
  
Surprised by his sudden burst of anger, Lorelai stroked his arm and said, "Okay, first of all, calm down. Take a breath. It's stupid to get upset about something that happened so long ago."  
  
"Yeah, well, Pearl Harbor happened a long time ago, but people are still upset about that," Luke muttered.  
  
"That's because they made a big movie with cute guys that reminded everyone how bad of a time it was," Lorelai replied. She took a deep breath. "Now, come on, tell me why you're suddenly so anti-Christopher."  
  
Luke pushed the covers off of him and climbed off the bed. He picked up his boxer shorts from the floor and pulled them on, then stood next to the bed with his hands on his hips. "Tell me why you're not."  
  
Confused, Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "Why I'm not?"  
  
Luke sat back down on the bed. "Yeah - why doesn't it bother you. . .the way he treated you, the way he was never there for you and Rory, why do you act like it never happened? Why do you act like he's the greatest father in the world for calling her once a week?"  
  
Taken aback by the question, Lorelai shrugged and stammered, "I don't. . . because. . .he's just. . .and Rory. . ." Her voice trailed off and she glanced down at the bed.  
  
"I'll tell you what I think," Luke said firmly. "It's because you raised that girl by yourself and you got so used to him not being there for you that you just accepted it as normal. . . . and now that he's around more and calling more, you think he's some freaking saint for trying to act like the man he should've been acting like from the start." He shook his head. "That ain't how it works, Lorelai. You can't trade fifteen years of him being a jerk for two years of him being less-of-a-jerk."  
  
Lorelai sighed and lifted her head up to look at him. "Luke, come on, do we have to talk about this right now?"  
  
"I know he tried in the beginning. . .I know you turned his proposal down and everything, I know all that. . .but he still had a responsibility and he should've dealt with it instead of running across the country," Luke continued. "What kind of man does something like that?"  
  
Lorelai groaned. "Luke, pleeeeease stop. I don't need you to tell me how my life could've or should've been. I get that enough from my mother."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Hey, you asked me what I was thinking, I'm just telling you."  
  
"Okay, well, I didn't think it would be a ten-hour monologue, I'm sorry," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Can we finish this conversation some other time - like, when it's not almost midnight?" She leaned toward him and pressed her mouth against his. His tense lips softened and he kissed her back, gently at first but then with more intensity. After several seconds, Lorelai pulled back and said, "Please?"  
  
Luke closed his eyes and nodded. He opened them and took a deep breath. "Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to get all . . .you know."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "It's okay." She lay down on her side facing away from him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. They lay silently for a few seconds before she whispered, "Luke, if things had gone like you said they should have. . . if he wouldn't have left Connecticut, if he would've stayed to help care for us . . . we probably wouldn't be lying here right now. I wouldn't have this ring on my finger or the most incredible guy in the world holding me."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I mean, I'm not saying that me and Chris would've gotten married or even stayed together as a couple, but. . .things just probably would've been very different."  
  
"I know."  
  
"So. . . maybe he didn't exactly do the right thing, but . . .it worked out for us in the end. We just have to concentrate on that instead of thinking about all the bad stuff that we can't change," Lorelai finished. Luke was silent for a few seconds, and Lorelai could feel his breath against her back. She turned to look at him and saw him staring back at her. "You know?"  
  
Luke slowly nodded. "Yeah, I gotcha."  
  
She turned her body around to face him, and she smiled as she patted his chest. "I mean, Luke. . .we're getting married. . . say it."  
  
A smile fell upon his lips and he said, "We're getting married."  
  
Lorelai grinned. "Feels good, doesn't it?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"I mean, we won't just be living together as shacker-uppers anymore," Lorelai said. "Which is probably sad for you because I know you really like that term."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes, then kissed her. He pulled her body closer against his and adjusted the blanket over them. As she snuggled up against him, he whispered, "Night."  
  
Lorelai smiled to herself as she relaxed against the comfort of his arms. "Night."  
  
* * * 


	10. Parts 49 to 52

"It's Right There - parts 49 - 52"  
  
* * *  
  
PART 49  
  
* * *  
  
The next afternoon at the inn, Lorelai glanced around the front desk at the stacks of papers, then turned to Michel with a puzzled look. "Michel, what was on my 'to do' list today?"  
  
Michel sighed and shrugged. "Um, to review the inventory sheets?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Did it."  
  
"To go over the itinerary for the convention next week," he said.  
  
"Done."  
  
"To call Manny and confirm the linen order," Michel said. "And to call the landscaper about the front walkway."  
  
"Done and done," Lorelai said proudly. She drummed her hands on the front desk. "Man, I'm on the ball today!"  
  
Michel rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm quite excited for you. . .now leave me alone."  
  
Lorelai stepped closer to him and leaned forward on the desk. "Aw, Michel, come on! Let's do something fun, like play hopscotch or jump rope."  
  
Michel narrowed his eyes at her and scoffed, then turned back to the computer.  
  
Lorelai frowned. She stood up straight and tapped him on the shoulder. "Michel. . ." He ignored her, so she tapped again. "Michel. . .I'm bored."  
  
Michel sighed. "Yes, I can see that. Get away from me."  
  
Lorelai held her hand in front of his face. "Wanna see my ring again? It's nice, huh?"  
  
Michel pushed her hand away and muttered, "How you managed to get engaged twice in a twelve month period is beyond me."  
  
Lorelai smiled and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Probably because I drive men wild with my long legs and seductive eyes."  
  
"No, you drive men crazy with your incessant nagging," Michel replied, annoyed. "Now leave me alone so I can get my work done."  
  
Lorelai frowned at him as she walked away from the desk and headed toward the kitchen. She pushed open the door and stepped inside, scanning the room for Sookie. She found her sitting at the counter snacking on some pretzels as she flipped through a magazine.  
  
Lorelai smiled as she walked over to her. "Bored?"  
  
"Extremely." Sookie offered her a pretzel.  
  
"Thanks," Lorelai replied. She took a bite, then said, "Me too. I finished everything on my 'to do' list for today."  
  
"And I finished setting up everything for the dinner special," Sookie said. She gestured around the kitchen to the other chefs mulling around. "They're taking care of everything else, so I'm sort of just. . ."  
  
"Hanging around?" Lorelai suggested.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You should've came into the lobby and helped me bother Michel," Lorelai said.  
  
Sookie giggled. "I'm sure you didn't need any help."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "True - I was pretty successful doing it myself. I'm a savant."  
  
Sookie smiled and glanced back down at her magazine. She flipped through a few pages, then stopped and smiled. "Here's a quiz for you - are you high maintenance?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I know I'm not, I don't need a quiz to tell me it."  
  
Sookie smirked. "Mmhmm."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "What's that for? You think I'm high maintenance?"  
  
"Well, uh, honey. . .sometimes you're a little. . ." Sookie's voice trailed off and she twirled her finger in her hair. "Uh. . .well, once in awhile. . ." Lorelai's cell phone went off and Sookie let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God."  
  
Lorelai frowned as she pulled the phone out of her blazer pocket. "Don't think you're getting off that easy. I'm coming back to you for an answer." She checked to see who it was, then smiled. "Okay, it's the house - so it's either Rory or Luke." She answered, "Hello?"  
  
"Hey," Luke's voice replied. "It's me."  
  
Lorelai smiled and leaned forward on the counter. "Hey you. What's up?"  
  
"I just wanted to tell - "  
  
"Oh wait!" Lorelai interrupted him. "Luke, let me ask you something first. . . do you think I'm high maintenance?"  
  
"What . . .what are you talking about?" Luke asked.  
  
"Sookie thinks I'm high maintenance so I just wanted a second opinion," Lorelai said. "Do you think I am?"  
  
Sookie rolled her eyes and muttered, "Don't answer that, Luke, for the love of God."  
  
Lorelai playfully smacked her on the shoulder. "So. . .what do you think?" she asked him again.  
  
"Not really," he replied.  
  
"Are you being serious, or are you just saying that because you think if you answer any other way I'll be mad at you?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"No, I'm serious."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Really? I thought for sure you'd say yes since you always tell me I'm stubborn."  
  
"You definitely are stubborn," Luke agreed. "But. . .you're not as high maintenance as I thought you'd be. I was prepared for much worse."  
  
Lorelai let out a surprised laugh. "So, wait, wait, wait - you're saying that going into the relationship, you thought I'd be high maintenance?"  
  
Listening in the background, Sookie grimaced and shook her head. "Ooh, not good, Luke. Now you gotta talk your way outta that one."  
  
"Yeah," Luke admitted. "I mean, come on - I've known you for years. It didn't take long for me to realize that flexibility's not your middle name."  
  
"Yeah, well, that's because my mother thought Victoria went better with Lorelai," Lorelai interjected.  
  
"I don't know. . .I guess a regular person, someone who's not used to you, might find you hard to handle, but. . . I get you. I get how your mind works. . .most of the time."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You do seem to understand me more than your average Joe. You think that's why we work?"  
  
"Absolutely. If I wasn't used to your personality or if I wasn't prepared to deal with your abnormally high amount of energy on a regular basis, then. . .things would be different," Luke said.  
  
"And if I didn't adjust the aforementioned energetic personality slightly to conform to your more reserved disposition, and vice versa, then . . ."  
  
"We probably would've killed each other by now," Luke finished.  
  
"Probably," Lorelai agreed with a laugh. "We do have our differences. . .but it's good because we balance each other out. I loosen you up, you keep me grounded. . ."  
  
"Works well," Luke commented.  
  
"Yes, it does," Lorelai said with a nod. They were both silent for a few seconds, then Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, so. . . why'd you call? Did you want something?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, I just wanted to let you know I came home early," he replied. "I stopped at the market and picked up some chicken for dinner."  
  
"Cool," Lorelai replied.  
  
"And now I'm gonna do some things around the house," Luke said.  
  
"Like what?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Like mow the lawn, fix the laundry room door, fix the shower head. . . you know, just tinker around," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Did you just say tinker?"  
  
"Yes, I did," he replied, smiling. "I enjoy tinkering once in awhile."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Oh yeah? Maybe I should come home, then . . .I can think of something I'd like to tinker with."  
  
"Yeah, well, Rory's home, so we'll have to save the tinkering for another time," Luke replied.  
  
"Aw, okay. What's she up to?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"She and Lane are hanging out in the living room."  
  
"Planning a robbery?"  
  
"I think so."  
  
"Cool." Lorelai checked her watch. "I'll probably be home soon, there's not much going on here."  
  
"Okay. See ya later."  
  
"Bye." Lorelai hung up and slipped the phone back into her pocket. It was then that she noticed that Sookie had been leaning forward on the counter listening to her conversation. Lorelai laughed and said, "Very subtle eavesdropping, Sookie."  
  
Sookie giggled as she sat back up straight. "It's so fun watching you talk to him."  
  
"Why is it fun?"  
  
"Because you're so. . .flirty and happy all the time, it's so cute," Sookie said, smiling.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Glad you find it entertaining." She glanced around the kitchen and sighed. "I'm bored. You wanna go bother Michel?"  
  
Sookie closed her magazine and stood up. "Yeah, let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai, Luke, and Rory stood on the front porch of the Gilmore mansion. Lorelai checked her watch and said, "Okay, the movie starts in an hour, and I like to get there like ten minutes early, plus it takes seven minutes to get there, plus we should allow like twelve minutes to buy snacks, so we need to leave in. . . " Her voice trailed off and she gestured to Rory. "Hi, this is where someone smart jumps in and does the math."  
  
"Oh, sorry," Rory replied. She thought for a moment and said, "We need to leave in thirty-one minutes."  
  
"Okay, thirty-one minutes," Lorelai repeated. "Everyone remember that and move the conversations along quickly."  
  
"Ring the bell already," Luke urged.  
  
As Rory rang the doorbell, Lorelai whispered to Luke, "Are you nervous?"  
  
"No, I do this all the time," he replied nonchalantly.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Oh yeah? You're experienced at announcing your engagement?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Okay, good." Lorelai turned and faced the door, and a few seconds later, Emily pulled it open. "Hey Mom," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hello, hello!" Emily greeted them cheerfully. "Come inside." Emily stepped back and the three of them walked into the house. "Richard's in his office. He doesn't know that you're coming, I wanted it all to be a big surprise. Why don't you head to the living room and I'll go get him?"  
  
"Okay," Lorelai replied. As Emily walked down the hallway, the three guests walked into the living room and sat down on one of the sofas.  
  
A few seconds later, Emily and Richard entered the living room, and Richard raised his eyebrows. "Now, this is a surprise. Is it Friday already?"  
  
"No, no, it's just a visit, come sit," Emily said, leading him to the empty sofa. They both sat down and Emily smiled at Richard. "Lorelai and Luke have something they'd like to tell you."  
  
"They'd like to tell me?" Richard repeated. "Just me?"  
  
"Yes, just you. I already know about it," Emily replied.  
  
"Huh. Well, don't keep me out of the loop forever. . .what is it?" Richard asked, focusing his attention on Lorelai.  
  
Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, well, Dad, first off, we didn't mean to keep you out of the loop. We would've told you sooner but you were away and this is the first chance we've had to drive out here."  
  
Richard waved her off. "Yes, I understand all that, that's no problem."  
  
"Okay, good," Lorelai replied. She smiled as she laced her fingers through Luke's. "Uh, we just wanted to let you know that. . . Luke and I got engaged on Saturday."  
  
Richard's face softened and his eyes widened. "My goodness."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded excitedly. "We're getting married."  
  
"Yes, that's what I interpreted the phrase 'we got engaged' to mean, Lorelai," Richard said, rolling his eyes slightly.  
  
"Right, sorry," she replied quickly.  
  
Richard smiled. "Well, I. . .uh. . .I think that's wonderful. Congratulations."  
  
"Thanks, Dad," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Thank you, sir," Luke replied.  
  
"Have you set a date?" Richard asked.  
  
"Oh, no, we haven't talked about anything like that yet," Lorelai replied, waving him off. "It's only been a few days since it happened."  
  
"Yes, I suppose there's no need to rush into anything," Richard said.  
  
"Right, right," Lorelai nodded.  
  
Richard stood up and rubbed his hands together. "Well, I think this calls for some champagne. . .what do you say?"  
  
"I say. . .let's do it," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yes, that's a wonderful idea," Emily said. "In fact, I've already set a bottle out." She stood up and followed Richard to help with the drinks.  
  
Lorelai turned to Rory and patted her on the knee. "So, you're feeling pretty talkative, huh?"  
  
Rory smiled. "This is your moment, I'm the tertiary character in this little show."  
  
"I feel like me and Luke are Jordan and Candace stealing all the attention while you're poor little Dede mulling around in the background," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory laughed. "Aw, I feel bad for her."  
  
"Yeah, I mean, sometimes you forget that she's even living in that house," Lorelai said.  
  
"She pops up like once every three weeks and you're like, 'who is that?'," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "I know!"  
  
"What are you two talking about?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Best damn reality show in the world."  
  
"Not to mention the object of a very unhealthy obsession," Rory added.  
  
"Here we are," Emily announced as she walked over with the tray of drinks. She set it on the coffee table and everyone took a glass.  
  
Richard raised his glass. "Well, I say, what better to drink to. . .than the happy couple."  
  
"Hear, hear." Lorelai smiled as each of them sipped their champagne, and the five of them conversed for a few minutes over their drinks.  
  
During a lull in the conversation, Lorelai glanced down at her watch and her eyes widened. "Ooh, we have to get going. We're gonna be late."  
  
"Late for what?" Emily asked.  
  
Lorelai set her glass down on the coffee table and stood up. "We're going to the movies."  
  
"Oh, how nice," Emily commented. "Around here or back home?"  
  
"Around here," Rory replied, standing up. "Over at the Crown Palace."  
  
Emily nodded. "Ah. What are you going to see?"  
  
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding," Rory answered.  
  
"A very appropriate film, considering the circumstances. . .well, if I was Greek, anyway," Lorelai added.  
  
"That's the name of the picture?" Richard asked with a laugh. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Seems like an odd title."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Yes, and I refuse to order the tickets for it."  
  
As they began walking toward the door, Lorelai said, "Hey, it's not as bad as asking for tickets to something like 'How Stella Got Her Groove Back'. Now *that* would be embarrassing."  
  
"You would know," Rory said, smirking. "You went to see it."  
  
Lorelai gasped and muttered, "I thought we agreed never to mention that for the rest of our lives."  
  
"Oh, right, sorry about that," Rory whispered.  
  
As they reached the front door, the five of them said their goodbyes and the three guests stepped onto the porch. "We'll see you on Friday," Emily said.  
  
"Yup, we'll be here," Lorelai replied. "Bye." The front door closed behind them and they walked toward the Jeep. Luke had his hands shoved into his pockets and was staring down at the ground. Lorelai linked her arm through his. "What's wrong?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I just. . ." He shook his head and sighed.  
  
Lorelai frowned and stopped walking, causing him to stop, too. "What is it?"  
  
Rory had reached the Jeep and had pulled the passenger door open. She paused before she climbed in and stared at them questioningly. "Everything okay?"  
  
Luke took several steps toward the Jeep, then turned around to look at Lorelai. "I just. . . I don't understand why you would do something like that," he said, shaking his head disappointedly.  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened and she walked over to him. "Oh my God, what did I do?"  
  
Luke stared at her for a few seconds before he quietly asked, "You seriously went to see How Stella Got Her Groove Back?" A slow smile appeared on his lips.  
  
Lorelai exhaled loudly and smacked him on the shoulder. "Don't do that to me! You were freaking me out right there!"  
  
Rory laughed. "Luke, she claims that the movie she and Sookie really went to see was sold out so they went to see Stella instead, but I don't buy it."  
  
"It's true!" Lorelai exclaimed. "I swear!"  
  
"Uh huh." Rory smiled and climbed into the backseat.  
  
Lorelai grabbed Luke's shirt and pulled him close to her. "You believe me, don't you?" she asked, pouting at him.  
  
Luke pried her fingers off and smoothed out his shirt. "If you say you didn't mean to see it, you didn't mean to see it."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "I didn't."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"All right."  
  
"Let's go."  
  
"Get in."  
  
"I will." Lorelai lingered for a moment, then slowly walked to the passenger side. She climbed in and pulled the door shut, and as Luke settled in behind the wheel, she asked, "Do you really believe me?"  
  
"No," he replied with a smirk. He fastened his seat belt and started the car.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, forget it. New topic."  
  
Luke pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the theater.  
  
"Did Kirk say why the pictures weren't ready?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "He just said that he didn't have time to get to 'em today and that he'd drop them off tomorrow instead."  
  
"What are you gonna do with them?" Luke asked. "Give 'em to Sookie?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm gonna buy a photo album and arrange them all nice and pretty and then give it to them as a gift," Lorelai replied, smiling. "They'll love it." She glanced toward the road. "You know where you're going, right?"  
  
"Yeah. Surprisingly, I've been to that theater before," Luke replied.  
  
"Let's prepare the snack list," Rory suggested. "Popcorn, obviously, and Red Vines. . ."  
  
"Nachos," Lorelai said. "Ooh, and Gummi Bears."  
  
"Something chocolatey," Rory said. "Snickers?"  
  
"Ooh, Reese's Pieces!" Lorelai said excitedly. "And M&M's!"  
  
"And a bag of Hershey's kisses. . .and maybe a box - "  
  
"Did either of you bring money?" Luke interrupted.  
  
They were both silent for a moment.  
  
"Nope," Rory replied.  
  
"Uh, I think I have a couple quarters in my purse," Lorelai replied. "Why?"  
  
"Because I didn't bring that much with me," Luke replied. "So you have to narrow down your snack choices down to the most necessary items."  
  
"How much will we have for food?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I don't know, maybe twenty bucks," Luke said with a shrug.  
  
Lorelai groaned. "Oh man, we can only get like five things if we want to get drinks, too. Everything's so expensive at the theater."  
  
"God forbid you don't get every junk food available," Luke said, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Don't mock."  
  
"I never mock."  
  
Lorelai held up her ring. "This is my mocker-detector." She moved her fist around slowly, aiming it at different sections of the car. When she aimed it toward Luke, she said, "Beep beep beep! Looks like we found a mocker."  
  
"Uh oh. . .warning, warning - a mocker has been detected," Rory said mechanically. "I repeat, a mocker has been detected!"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes as he pulled into the theater parking lot. "Look, we're here."  
  
As he parked the car, Rory checked her watch. "Wow, we're right on schedule."  
  
"Really?" Lorelai asked, surprised. "That never happens." She paused and smacked herself on the forehead. "I just jinxed it by saying that. Now, of course, we'll end up getting the new guy working the snack counter and he won't know what he's doing, then we'll have to walk into the theater late and people will be throwing stuff at us because we're in their way and then I'll start screaming back at people and we'll get thrown out. . .again."  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "Again?"  
  
Rory put her hand on Luke's shoulder. "You don't wanna know . . . trust me."  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, they walked out of the theater and headed toward the car as they talked about the movie.  
  
"Now that was a lot funnier than I thought it would be," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yeah, it was okay," Luke agreed. "Some parts were a little sappy, but it was good."  
  
"When I was your age, I didn't have food!" Rory laughed. "That was funny."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, that was good. And we so have to stop at the market so I can get some Windex to carry around in my purse."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Uh, I think we have some at home you can use."  
  
"Don't forget to save your stubs," Rory said.  
  
"For what?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "I already told you how we save all of our ticket stubs in that big plastic container."  
  
Luke nodded. "Right, I forgot. And what exactly do you do that for?"  
  
"So we can go through it one day and be reminded of all the cool movies and concerts and plays we've been to," Rory explained. "And some of the stubs have stories to go along with them - like Mom getting us thrown out of the theater, Mom getting into fights with people, Mom losing her cell phone and then screaming 'Thief!' over and over until she found it on the floor of the next aisle, Mom forgetting - "  
  
Lorelai laughed and interrupted her. "Okay, okay! Why does everything start with 'Mom' doing something?"  
  
"Because your name always seems to accompany some sort of mishap," Rory said.  
  
"Yeah, well, let's not divulge all of those mishaps until after we're married," Lorelai said. "That way he can't see what he's getting himself into."  
  
"Trust me, I know," Luke told her.  
  
Lorelai smiled. They walked quietly for a few seconds before she said, "Well, I think we all know the most important lesson we've learned from this movie - in the end, we're all fruit."  
  
"Well, I prefer not to think of myself as fruity, but. . . you two go right on ahead," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai and Rory looked at each other and smiled. They reached the Jeep and Luke unlocked the passenger door for them before he walked around to the driver's side. Just as the girls were about to climb in, Lorelai noticed a coffee shop across the street. She nudged Rory and gestured toward the shop, and both of their eyes widened.  
  
Lorelai put her arm around Rory's shoulder and looked at Luke over the roof of the Jeep. "Luke, can we have five bucks?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke climbed into the Jeep. "I told you we have some Windex at home. Get in."  
  
Lorelai leaned down to look into the car. "No, it's for coffee." She pointed across the street. "There's a shop right there. We'll be super fast, I promise."  
  
She nudged Rory, who leaned down and pouted. "Please, Luke?"  
  
Luke exhaled loudly and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. He took out some money and handed it to Lorelai, who clapped excitedly. "Thank you! You want anything?"  
  
"Yeah, for you to hurry up," he replied dryly.  
  
"We're going, come on," Lorelai said, grabbing Rory's arm. They slammed the door shut and Luke watched as they ran across the street and disappeared into the coffee shop. They emerged a few minutes later each carrying a cup. They returned to the car and climbed in, and Luke pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to Stars Hollow.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Luke was getting dressed in the bedroom as Lorelai walked out of the bathroom. As she closed the bedroom door, she dropped her robe and walked over to her dresser in just her underwear.  
  
She pulled out two bras, then turned around and asked, "Luke, which one should I wear?"  
  
He looked over at her and shrugged. "Whichever has the easier clasp to undo."  
  
Lorelai smirked. "Forget you." She glanced down at both of them, then tossed one back in the drawer and pulled the other one on.  
  
"You know, if they just made those things with Velcro, a man's life would be a lot easier," Luke commented as he pulled his T-shirt over his head.  
  
"Yeah, because a man's life is so tough," Lorelai said sarcastically. She rummaged through her closet and pulled out a black skirt.  
  
"What, you're saying it's not?" Luke asked in disbelief.  
  
"I'm saying it's easier to be a man than a woman," Lorelai replied as she pulled on the skirt. "Women have to put up with a lot more crap than men do."  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't disagree with that - but a man's life is still tough."  
  
"I'm sure it is," Lorelai replied, looking through her closet for a shirt. "That whole peeing while you stand thing must be exhausting after awhile. . . especially after a night of heavy drinking." She pulled out her purple ruffled shirt and pulled it on.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "And that's my clue to move on to a new topic."  
  
Lorelai smiled and walked over to him as she buttoned her shirt. "What do you have in mind?"  
  
"Truck shopping," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Truck shopping?"  
  
"Yeah - remember, I'm giving Jess the old one for his birthday?" Luke reminded her. "It's next week."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Right, I remember."  
  
"Yeah, I was thinking of calling John and seeing if he could come with me tonight to pick one out," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows and nodded slightly. "Oh." She walked over to her vanity and began combing her hair.  
  
Luke watched her as he pulled on his shoes, and after a minute of silence, asked, "What's wrong?"  
  
Lorelai looked at him in the mirror and shrugged. "Nothing."  
  
Luke finished tying his shoes and stood up. "What's wrong?" he repeated more sternly.  
  
Lorelai sighed and turned around to face him. She glanced down at the floor. "I don't know. . . I just thought that. . .even though you'll be the one using it, since it's sort of the first big thing that we'll buy together, that it'd be nice to actually. . .pick it out together."  
  
"You wanted to come pick out a new truck?" Luke asked, surprised.  
  
"Well. . . yeah," she said softly.  
  
"Oh," Luke said. "I didn't realize."  
  
"But. . .I mean, I don't have to," Lorelai said, waving him off. "You can go with John."  
  
Luke shook his head and walked over to her. "No, I just didn't think you'd wanna go. . . but, ya know, if you want to, that's fine with me."  
  
Lorelai tilted her head. "Really?"  
  
"Yeah," Luke replied. "We'll go tonight."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay."  
  
"Good. Uh, okay, I'm leaving," he said, leaning in to kiss her. "See you later."  
  
"Bye."  
  
* * *  
  
That afternoon at the inn, Lorelai and Sookie were talking at the front desk as Michel worked at the computer, shooting them annoyed looks every few seconds.  
  
"So tonight's out and Friday night's out because of Friday night dinner," Sookie said. "What about tomorrow?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, tomorrow's good. You think you'll be able to get an appointment on such short notice?"  
  
Sookie shrugged. "I'm gonna try. If not, we'll just have to make it for sometime next week."  
  
Lorelai rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Isn't this so exciting? I mean, your final wedding dress fitting makes the wedding seem so close!"  
  
"Well, it is close, honey," Sookie reminded her. "It's only two and a half weeks away." Sookie paused a moment, then squealed excitedly.  
  
Lorelai giggled and clasped her hands around Sookie's. "It's so exciting!"  
  
"Yes, I'm shaking with excitement," Michel said dryly. "Now for the hundredth time, can you two please get out of my face?"  
  
"Um. . .no," Lorelai replied. "We do appreciate you asking nicely, though."  
  
Michel scowled and turned back to the computer as the phone rang. Lorelai stared at Michel. "Oh, can you get that, Michel? I'm a little busy here." Michel ignored her, and Lorelai giggled. "Never mind, I got it." She walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking."  
  
"Hey Mom," Rory responded.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Hey Sweets. What's up? Anything wrong?"  
  
"Nope, just wanted to let you know that I ran into Kirk at the diner and he had the shower pictures, so he gave 'em to me," Rory said.  
  
"Oh, great," Lorelai said. "Did you pay him?"  
  
"Luke did," she replied.  
  
"Cool. How'd they come out?"  
  
"I didn't look at them yet," Rory replied. "Do you want me to wait for you?"  
  
"Nah, you can look at them," Lorelai said. "I'll see 'em later."  
  
"Okay." She paused a moment, then said, "I got an email from Dad. He wants to plan the next visit."  
  
"Oh. . .yeah, I'd figure he'd ask about that soon," Lorelai said, twirling a finger in her hair aimlessly. "Listen, write him back and tell him that you can't come until after Sookie's wedding. We're really gonna need you to help out with the preparations, like with the flowers and favors and stuff."  
  
"Okay, but. . .you want me to write him back?" Rory asked. "You don't wanna call him?"  
  
"I will, but I don't know when I'll have time to call him so I . . .think you should answer him electronically so he's not sitting around waiting to hear from us," Lorelai replied. "Okay?"  
  
"Okay," Rory replied. "Bye Mom."  
  
"Bye hon, love ya." Lorelai hung up the phone and walked back over to Sookie and Michel. "What'd I miss?"  
  
"Michel's babbling in French," Sookie replied. "Who was that? Your guy?"  
  
"No, my girl," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Everything okay?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Mmhmm."  
  
Sookie strummed her fingers on the counter, then said, "Okay, I better get back into the kitchen."  
  
"Good, take your annoying friend with you," Michel muttered.  
  
Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Michel, then smiled at Sookie. "Don't forget to make that appointment."  
  
"Right, got it," Sookie said, tapping her forehead. "Bye."  
  
"Bye Sookie."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 50  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Rory, Lane, and Dean were sitting in the living room watching television when they heard a horn from outside. Rory jumped up from the floor. "That's them!" She rushed to the front door and stepped out onto the porch, and the others followed behind her.  
  
As Lorelai was climbing out of her Jeep, Rory said, "Wow, this new car looks exactly like the old one."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "He's right behind me." She walked up to the porch. "Hey guys."  
  
"Hey," Dean replied.  
  
"Hi," Lane said. "So what kind did you guys get? Another pickup?"  
  
"Nope, he wanted one, but I talked him into. . . a dark green Ford Explorer," Lorelai said, clapping excitedly. "Oh my God, it's so nice! I slipped on my driving gloves and gave it a spin around the parking lot. It was so . . ." She glanced toward the driveway as Luke was pulling up. "Ooh, here it is!" She jumped off the porch and ran over to the truck. The three of them followed with their mouths gaping open.  
  
Luke climbed out of the truck with a modest smile on his face. He gestured to the truck. "So. . .uh, what do you guys think?"  
  
The three of them walked around the truck.  
  
"Oh my God!" Rory exclaimed. "This is so cool!"  
  
"Yeah, it's awesome," Dean said.  
  
"Excellent," Lane said, nodding approvingly.  
  
"He didn't care about all the little extras like the CD player or keyless entry or stuff like that, but a little birdie was there to inform him that those are the necessities of today's society," Lorelai said.  
  
"Definitely," Rory said as she pulled open the passenger door. "Can we go for a ride, Luke?"  
  
"Ooh, yeah, can we?" Lane asked.  
  
"Uh, yeah, let me just grab something to eat first," he said, gesturing to the house.  
  
Lorelai held out her hand. "You go eat, I'll take 'em for a spin."  
  
Luke hesitated a moment, then reluctantly held the keys out toward her. "Don't be too long," he said sternly. "And don't go too fast."  
  
Lorelai took the keys and kissed him on the cheek. "We won't." She walked past him over to the driver's door. "Rory, grab some CD's from the Jeep," she called.  
  
"Okay," Rory replied.  
  
Luke turned around and rolled his eyes. "You won't be gone long enough to need music."  
  
Lorelai smiled as she climbed into the driver's seat. "Hey, just like every rose has its thorn, every car ride needs music." As Luke rolled his eyes, Lorelai pulled the door shut and waved. Lane and Dean climbed into the back seat, and Rory climbed into the passenger seat with a stack of CDs. Luke took a few steps back and watched them pull away, then turned and went into the house.  
  
* * *  
  
Almost thirty minutes later, Lorelai pulled back into the driveway and the four of them piled out of the truck. As they walked toward the house, Luke opened the front door and stepped onto the porch. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Lorelai. "I was three minutes away from reporting the thing stolen, I hope you know that."  
  
"Uh oh, someone's in trouble," Rory said in a singsong voice.  
  
Lorelai smiled as she walked past Luke into the house. "What? We weren't that long." She dropped her purse on the floor of the entryway and walked toward the kitchen.  
  
As the others walked into the living room, Luke followed her into the kitchen. "Yeah, well, you were twenty-five minutes longer than I expected you to be."  
  
Lorelai leaned against the counter and smiled. "See, now, that's where your mistake was - you should know by now never to expect things with me," Lorelai said, wagging her finger at him. "I'm very unpredictable."  
  
"Yes, I know. . .one of your less endearing qualities," Luke muttered.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "I have to respectfully disagree. I think it's a charming quality. . .makes me spunky."  
  
Luke sauntered over to her and placed his hands on the counter, surrounding her with his arms. He leaned close to her face and said, "Spunky. . .that's what you call it?" He pressed his lips against hers.  
  
"Mmhmm," she moaned through the kiss. She unfolded her arms from her chest and wrapped them around his neck. She pulled his hat off his head and ran her fingers through his hair. When they finally broke apart, she asked, "What would you call it?"  
  
Panting slightly, he said, "Spunky's fine, I'm too busy to think of another word right now." He leaned in and kissed her again. She giggled softly as she kissed him back deeper.  
  
When she pulled back, she whispered, "You know what we have to do?"  
  
"What?" He took his hat back and replaced it on his head.  
  
"We have to christen the new truck," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows suggestively. "Have you seen how big the back is?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "No way. Don't even think about it."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Too late." She kissed him again, then asked, "Have you seen the shower pictures?"  
  
"Nope, not yet."  
  
"I'll go get 'em." Lorelai walked past him and headed toward the living room. "Rory, where are the shower pictures?"  
  
Rory looked up from the couch and pointed toward the desk. "Right there in that box."  
  
"Did you look at them?" Lorelai asked as she walked over to the desk.  
  
"Yup, there are some really good ones," Rory replied. She paused, then added, "And one rather disturbing one." Lorelai narrowed her eyes as she picked up the box and brought it into the kitchen.  
  
Luke was sitting at the table, and Lorelai sat down next to him. "These better be good for costing forty-five bucks," Luke muttered.  
  
Lorelai pulled out a stack of pictures and they began looking through them. When they came to one of them sitting at a table eating, Lorelai laughed. "Oh my God, look how cute we are!"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "And what's cute about us stuffing our faces?"  
  
"Shush, it's cute," she said, frowning at him. They flipped through the rest of that stack, then pulled out another group of pictures. They flipped through those until one of them made Lorelai gasp. . .the one Kirk had taken of them dancing just moments before Luke had proposed.  
  
Lorelai clasped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God." She brought the picture close to her eyes. "Oh my God."  
  
"That's a nice one," Luke commented.  
  
Lorelai nodded as she stared intensely at the photo. "I can't believe I forgot about this one. I saw him take it, but I completely forgot about it." She waved the photo toward Luke. "Do you have any idea how amazing this is? This is us. . ."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yes, it is."  
  
"No, not just *us*," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "But us . . .in mid proposal. How many people have a picture of themselves ten seconds before they get engaged? How many people have physical documentation of that moment?"  
  
"Uh, not many?" Luke guessed.  
  
"No, not many," Lorelai said, grinning excitedly. "I can't believe how great this came out. I'm gonna get this enlarged so we can frame it, okay?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Whatever you want."  
  
"Poster size," Lorelai added.  
  
"Okay, let me take back that 'whatever you want' and exchange it for a 'do not go higher than an eight by ten'," Luke said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Sixteen by twenty," Lorelai countered.  
  
"Eleven by fourteen," Luke said.  
  
"Deal," Lorelai agreed. She smiled down at the picture. "Man, we really have to give Kirk a tip or something. Maybe I'll get him something gnom- ish."  
  
"He likes gnomes?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai nodded as she flipped through a few more pictures, then let out a laugh. "And, uh, apparently he didn't remove all of his gnome pictures from the roll. This must be the disturbing one Rory was talking about. Check this out." She held up the picture in front of him.  
  
Luke looked at it and narrowed his eyes. "My God, what are they doing?" He tilted his head, looking at it from another angle.  
  
"They. . .appear to be partaking in some wild gnome fun." Lorelai shuddered and dropped the picture on the table. "Okay, I thought the sheer notion of taking pictures of gnomes was weird enough, but the fact that he was setting them up in lewd positions first is just completely creepy."  
  
"Kirk's a bit odd," Luke said.  
  
"Yes, he is," Lorelai agreed. "But he did get some good pictures." They looked through the rest of them, setting aside the ones they wanted to keep for themselves, any that included Lorelai, Luke, or Rory.  
  
When they were done, Lorelai put the rest of the pictures back into the box, then turned to Luke. "So. . .what are you gonna do?"  
  
Luke stood up. "I think I'm gonna go take a shower."  
  
Lorelai stood up. "I think I'll go see what the youthful folk are up to in there."  
  
They walked to the living room, and as Luke walked upstairs, Lorelai sat down on the floor in front of the couch. "What are you guys watching?" She watched the television for a few seconds, then said, "Ooh, is this on cable or is this the edited version?"  
  
"It's on Comedy Central," Rory replied. "They cut out all the good stuff."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Aw, censorship sucks."  
  
"Yes, it does," Rory agreed.  
  
* * *  
  
The next night after work, Lorelai and Sookie walked into the diner for coffee. As Luke set the takeout cups in front of them, he asked, "What time do you think you'll be home?"  
  
Lorelai took a sip of her coffee and shrugged. "I don't know. We're gonna grab some dinner after the appointment, so I guess maybe between eight and nine. . .that sound about right?" she asked Sookie.  
  
Sookie nodded. "Yeah, that's what I told Jackson."  
  
Lorelai turned back to Luke. "Yeah, somewhere around there. Rory didn't wanna go, but I think she'll be in here later for dinner."  
  
"Okay."  
  
She leaned over the counter and pecked him on the cheek. "Bye."  
  
"Bye," Luke replied. "Bye Sookie."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Bye."  
  
They walked out of the diner and climbed into Sookie's SUV, then drove to Lorelai's house to pick up Sookie's wedding dress.  
  
As they pulled out of the driveway and headed toward Hartford, Lorelai leaned her head against the side window and said, "Sookie?"  
  
"You finally wanna talk about what's been bothering you?" Sookie asked.  
  
Surprised, Lorelai turned her head toward Sookie. "How did you know something was bothering me?"  
  
"Because I know you," Sookie replied. "What is it?"  
  
Lorelai stared out the windshield. "What do you think of. . .Christopher?"  
  
Sookie's eyes widened and she shook her head slightly. "Okay, totally wasn't expecting that question."  
  
"I know, I know, but. . .what do you think of him?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Sookie gasped. "Oh God, Lorelai, please tell me you're not thinking of breaking up with Luke for Christopher. It'll break his heart!"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Sookie! Of course not!"  
  
Sookie let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, good."  
  
"I just wanted to know what you thought of him."  
  
"Well. . . I've only met him once, Lorelai," Sookie said with a shrug. "He seemed nice."  
  
"What about. . .character-wise?" Lorelai asked. "I mean, judging by what you know about him, what do you think of him?"  
  
Sookie narrowed her eyes at Lorelai. "Why don't you tell me what you're thinking?"  
  
Lorelai nibbled on her bottom lip for a few seconds and stared out at the pavement as they sped down the highway. Finally, she let out a long sigh and said, "I've always told myself that it was okay for Christopher to get out of Connecticut. I mean, he didn't wanna be here, I told him I didn't wanna marry him . . . so he left. I've always thought that, in a way, it was something that I was partially responsible for, him leaving. . . so essentially I'm the reason that I had to raise Rory without a father, meaning that I shouldn't complain about it or be mad at him for it, that it was something I brought on myself."  
  
Sookie scoffed. "Lorelai, you know that's not true."  
  
"Well, true or not, that's what I told myself," Lorelai said. "But I've been thinking about it lately. . .and realizing that just because I told him that I didn't need his help doesn't mean that he had to go. He should've *wanted* to stay - but instead, it's like he jumped at the chance to get away from it all, to miss his daughter's childhood. I mean, even if *I* didn't want to settle down and get married and live happily ever after, he should've at least been there for Rory."  
  
"I agree."  
  
"But he didn't want to," Lorelai said. "He didn't want to see her grow up, he didn't want to help raise her. He left . . . he just up and left. Why did he do that, Sookie? Why did he leave like that?"  
  
"Because when someone is given an opportunity to avoid all of their responsibilities like that, they take it," Sookie said. "It's just how some people are."  
  
"I've always thought that he was a good person for asking her to come visit or for calling her once in awhile," Lorelai said. "I'd think, 'Aw, look at that - her father's trying to be closer to her, what a great guy.'" Lorelai scoffed and shook her head. "But why the hell should I be giving him fanfare for doing stuff like that when he should've been there the whole damn time?"  
  
"You shouldn't," Sookie said, shaking her head.  
  
"That's right, I shouldn't," Lorelai said, her anger apparent in her voice. "Why was I so stupid, feeling all proud of him every time he made a nice gesture?"  
  
"Because you and Rory weren't used to those gestures," Sookie said. "You were getting excited when he tried to reach out to you guys."  
  
"I know, but we shouldn't have." Lorelai shook her head. "We shouldn't have put him up on a pedestal for doing things like that. I mean, calling once in awhile? Seeing her, at most, twice a year? Those are things that long lost uncles do, not fathers! Fathers should be there all the time - he should've been there for her, Sookie, and I'm really starting to . . ." Lorelai exhaled loudly. "I'm really starting to hate him for it."  
  
They were both silent for a minute, then Sookie glanced toward Lorelai. "Honey, can I ask you something?" Sookie asked softly. "Where is all of this coming from? Why now, after so many years, are you getting so worked up over this?"  
  
"I don't know," she replied tersely. Lorelai closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "That's not true - I do know."  
  
"So. . .why?"  
  
"Luke," Lorelai replied. "The other day he got really mad and - "  
  
"Luke got mad?" Sookie interrupted. "Like yelling-mad?"  
  
"Yelling-mad," Lorelai confirmed. "And he never gets like that. . .I mean, as long as I've known him, I've only seen him get that way a couple of times. He said he was thinking about how Chris shouldn't have left and yadda yadda yadda. . .he asked me why I wasn't mad at Chris for deserting me and Rory."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"Yeah, and that just made me start thinking about things," Lorelai said. "And now I've got all these feelings that I'm trying to sort out. . .and it's hard."  
  
"Have you talked to Luke about it since he brought it up?" Sookie asked.  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No. . .should I?"  
  
"It might be good to get it out," Sookie said, nodding. "I mean, you guys are engaged . . .he's apart of the whole family-situation now, you know?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"So. . .yeah, talk to him," Sookie said. "It'll make you feel better to get it all out with him."  
  
"Yeah, I guess so," Lorelai replied. She picked up her coffee and took a long sip, then replaced it in the cup holder with a sigh.  
  
* * *  
  
Back in Stars Hollow, Luke was clearing off a table as Jess walked into the diner carrying a couple of books. As he passed Luke, he said, "Hey."  
  
Luke nodded toward him and continued clearing off the table. He glanced out the window and saw his old truck, which he had driven to work that day instead of the new one, and he suddenly stood up straight. "Oh, hey. . . come here a sec."  
  
Jess stopped near the staircase and turned around. "What?"  
  
Luke set the plates back down on the table and wiped his hands on the dishtowel draped on his shoulder. He gestured for Jess to follow him as he started walking toward the door. Jess narrowed his eyes and set his books on the counter, then followed Luke out onto the sidewalk.  
  
Jess shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "Yeah?"  
  
"Your birthday's next week," Luke said.  
  
Jess' eyes widened. "Is it? Thanks for the heads-up." He rolled his eyes. "Is that all you wanted?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Be nice for two minutes, okay?"  
  
"Countdown starts. . . now," Jess said, tapping on his watch. "Go."  
  
Luke pulled his keys out of his pocket and fumbled through them to find the key to his truck. Jess watched as Luke pulled the key off the ring, then shoved the others back into his pocket.  
  
"Now, as I said, your birthday's next week," Luke said. "But I wanted to give you your present now." He held out the key toward Jess. "Here."  
  
Jess took the key. "My own key to the truck?"  
  
"No. . .the whole truck," Luke said, gesturing to it. "To keep."  
  
Jess' eyes widened slightly and he looked at the truck, then turned back to Luke. "Wait. . .are you serious? Is this a joke?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "No. . .the truck's yours. I know it's not perfect, but it's better than nothing. . .at least until you can afford something better."  
  
"But. . .what about you?" Jess asked.  
  
"I got a new one," Luke said.  
  
Jess smirked. "Oh, so I get the hand-me-down while you get the nice shiny one?"  
  
Luke folded his arms across his chest. "Look, I don't have to do this, I'm just being nice. Do you want it or not?"  
  
"Hell yeah, I want it," Jess replied with a nod. He paused a moment, then added, "I didn't mean to sound ungrateful or nothing, I was just kidding around."  
  
Luke nodded. "So. . .you know, happy birthday."  
  
"Thanks," Jess said. He extended his hand toward Luke.  
  
Luke shook it. "You're welcome. Remember, you gotta take care of it. . .gas, oil changes, stuff like that."  
  
Jess nodded. "I got it, no problem."  
  
"You might wanna get yourself a keychain there," Luke suggested, pointing to the key.  
  
Jess smirked. "Yeah, I'll get me one of those. Anything else?"  
  
"Just. . . you know, be careful," Luke said, shifting his feet uncomfortably. "And keep your phone with you when you're driving."  
  
Jess nodded. "I will."  
  
"All right, I gotta get back inside," Luke said, gesturing to the diner door.  
  
"Okay," Jess replied. "And. . .thanks."  
  
Luke nodded and started walking toward the diner, and Jess followed behind him.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai walked into the house slightly before 8:30. Luke and Rory were both watching television, and as she hung her purse up on the coat hook and walked into the living room, they both looked up from the couch. "Hey Mom," Rory greeted her.  
  
"Hey," Luke said.  
  
"Hey." She sat on the couch between them and put her feet up on the coffee table.  
  
"How'd it go?" Rory asked.  
  
"Good," Lorelai replied. "Sookie's dress has to be taken in a little so they have to keep it until next week. And she wants you and I to come over this weekend and try on ours to make sure they're all finished." She turned to Luke and patted his thigh. "Speaking of which, you need to buy a new suit."  
  
Luke made a face. "Right, I forgot. I guess jeans are discouraged at weddings, huh?"  
  
"Uh, yeah," Lorelai said with a laugh. "Sookie's one of those rare brides who wants her wedding guests to dress in formal attire."  
  
Luke made a face. "It's so stupid that people have to get all dressed up for these things. We should let our guests wear whatever the hell they want. In fact, I just might wear jeans to our wedding to prove a point."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Okay - lemme tell you right now, as big a fan as I am of jeans, if you show up to our wedding in 'em, you're leaving without a wife. I will hightail it out of there like a scene from Runaway Bride."  
  
Luke smirked. "Noted."  
  
"Wow, that's an extreme measure to take for not liking someone's pants," Rory commented.  
  
"Yeah, well, pants are very important to me," Lorelai said, stifling a yawn.  
  
"Tired already?" Rory asked.  
  
"No, that's not a tired yawn, just a bored yawn," Lorelai replied. "Let's do something."  
  
"Like what?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Let's play a game. What haven't we played in awhile?"  
  
"Everything," Rory said.  
  
"How 'bout Monopoly?" Lorelai suggested.  
  
"Didn't we lose all the game pieces?" Rory asked.  
  
"Yeah, actually, I think we did." Lorelai stood up and walked toward the kitchen. "I'll find something else for us to use. Luke, can you get the game out of the closet? It's on the top shelf."  
  
Luke stood up and retrieved the game as Rory cleared off the coffee table. They both sat down on the floor and started to set up the game as Lorelai walked back in and dropped three jelly beans on the board. "There you go. I'm red."  
  
Rory grabbed the yellow one. "I'm yellow."  
  
Luke shook his head slightly. "Oh boy."  
  
Lorelai sat down next to Luke, then she frowned. "Shoot, I forgot to get a drink."  
  
Rory held up the stack of multi-colored money. "If you hand out the money, I'll go get you one."  
  
"Deal," Lorelai said. "Soda, please."  
  
Rory handed her the money and she stood up. "Luke - more iced tea?"  
  
Luke glanced over at his drink on the end table. "Uh, yeah, thanks." He handed her the cup and she walked into the kitchen.  
  
Lorelai glanced down at the instructions to see how much money to hand out, then she started counting it out. After a few seconds, she glanced over at Luke and saw him watching her. She cleared her throat and glanced back down. "Luke. . .uh, I've been thinking a lot lately. . ."  
  
Luke groaned. "Uh oh, good conversations rarely start off like that."  
  
Lorelai looked up at him. "No, it's not bad. I just. . .I've been thinking about our conversation about Christopher. . ."  
  
Luke waved her off. "Look, I'm sorry about bringing all that up. . ."  
  
"No, no, it was good," Lorelai insisted. "It made me think about a lot of things, and. . .I wanna talk about it with you."  
  
"You do?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I really wanna explain my feelings about all this."  
  
Luke nodded quickly. "Okay. . . any time you want."  
  
"Thank you." Lorelai smiled and leaned over to kiss him. She pulled back slowly and ran her hand over the stubble on his cheek before she returned to passing out the money.  
  
Rory returned to the living room with the drinks. She set them on the coffee table, then sat back down. "Did you tell Mom about the truck, Luke?"  
  
Lorelai looked up, surprised. "Something wrong with the new truck already?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "No, the new one's fine."  
  
"He gave Jess his old one," Rory said. "Wasn't that nice?"  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "You gave it to him already? His birthday's not until next week."  
  
Luke shrugged. "I know. . . but I had taken the old truck to work today and Jess came into the diner and I saw it parked out there and. . ."  
  
Lorelai smiled and turned to Rory. "Aw, he couldn't wait to give it to him!"  
  
Rory smiled. "How cute!"  
  
Lorelai turned back to Luke. "So. . .he was happy?"  
  
"Yeah, he was excited about it," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Good."  
  
"Yup."  
  
As Lorelai continued passing out the money, she asked, "Any good mail today?"  
  
"Bills," Luke replied.  
  
"No magazines," Rory added.  
  
"Rats," Lorelai muttered.  
  
"I did get something from Chilton, though," Rory said. "There's gonna be a Summer College Fair coming up for seniors."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Are you gonna go?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "Probably."  
  
"What, to get more Harvard stuff?" Luke asked.  
  
Rory shrugged. "I don't know. I just. . .wanna look around." She glanced down at her shirt and picked off a piece of lint.  
  
Lorelai and Luke glanced at each other curiously and shrugged. Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, here you go." She handed out the stacks of money. "Roll to see who goes first."  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, after helping Rory clean up the game, Lorelai and Luke climbed the staircase up to their room. "I told you, just because you had Boardwalk and Park Place doesn't mean it's all in the bag," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Luke muttered.  
  
"You so thought you were gonna win. When you put up those hotels, you were practically running around the room doing your victory dance," Lorelai said with a smirk.  
  
As they reached the top of the steps, Luke yawned and said, "Okay, let's forget it."  
  
Lorelai turned around and wagged her finger in his face. "But I told you - you have to watch out for those yellows and greens."  
  
Luke took her wrist and brought her hand down. "Yes, now I know for next time."  
  
"Good." She glanced down at his hand clutching her wrist. "Can I have my hand back, or did you want it as a memento of this conversation?" Her eyes widened. "Speaking of which, we should rent that movie!"  
  
Luke let go of her hand and walked into the bedroom. "What movie?"  
  
Lorelai followed him into the room and closed the door. "Memento. . .it's a backwards movie. . .all the scenes are in reverse order."  
  
"Sounds confusing," Luke commented.  
  
"It's cool though," Lorelai said. "You'll like it. Plus, the lead guy has tattoos, so you'll have something in common with him. . . except his tattoos are all freaky and stuff."  
  
"Uh huh," Luke muttered as he took off his shirt. "Speaking of which, yours is starting to fade."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Aw, it is?"  
  
"Yeah, I noticed last night," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai walked over to the mirror and pulled off her shirt. She turned around and glanced over her shoulder to see the reflection of the tattoo. "Aww, it is! Are you sad?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Devastated."  
  
Lorelai walked over to him. "I think you are, you think it's sexy."  
  
"It is," Luke said. "But that doesn't mean I'll be sad when it's gone. I don't get emotionally attached to inanimate objects like you do."  
  
"So you don't think I should replace this one with a real one?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke shook his head. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." He walked over to his side of the bed and pulled off his shirt.  
  
"Meaning?" she asked as she took off her pants.  
  
Luke glanced over his shoulder at her. "Meaning that . . .your body's perfect the way it is and you shouldn't ruin it with a tattoo, plain and simple."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah?"  
  
Luke nodded and turned back around. They both finished changing and took turns using the bathroom. As Lorelai returned to the bedroom, she shut the door and turned off the light, then climbed into bed next to Luke, who lay on his back with his hands behind his head.  
  
She leaned against the headboard and pulled the covers up around her, then glanced over at him. He was staring at her, waiting for her to bring up what he knew both of them were thinking about.  
  
Lorelai sighed softly and shook her head. "Not tonight. I don't wanna talk about it tonight."  
  
Luke nodded understandably. "Okay. Like I said, any time you want. . .whenever you're ready."  
  
Lorelai nodded and leaned down to kiss him. "Night."  
  
"Night." Luke watched her roll over onto her side and rest her head against her pillow before he rolled the opposite way and did the same.  
  
* * *  
  
On Saturday afternoon, Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner and sat down at the counter. Luke greeted them with a nod as he cleared a table in the corner of the room.  
  
They chatted casually as he carried the plates into the kitchen, then returned and stood across from them. "What's up?"  
  
"We went food shopping," Lorelai said, rubbing her hands together excitedly.  
  
"Oh boy," Luke muttered. "Just tell me - did you get anything that I like?"  
  
"As a matter of fact, we did," Rory replied. "When we got there, we noticed that there was a huge sale on produce. . . "  
  
"So I was like, 'Let's buy some fruit, Luke would be proud of us for taking advantage of this remarkable bargain'," Lorelai interrupted, grinning proudly at Luke.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "I believe your exact words were, 'Let's buy the things that we like first, and if there's room in the basket, we'll get some fruit for Luke.'"  
  
Luke folded his arms across his chest and gave Lorelai an accusing look.  
  
Lorelai gasped and nudged Rory with her elbow. "Traitor!" she hissed.  
  
Rory laughed. "Hey, I'm just telling the truth here."  
  
"So did you get some produce?" Luke asked.  
  
"Yeah, we picked up a couple things for ya," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Good. What are you doing now?"  
  
"Well, we just dropped off the groceries, and now we're going to Freddy's to buy a photo album for Sookie's shower pictures," Lorelai said.  
  
"We want to bring it with us when we go over to try on the dresses tonight," Rory added.  
  
"Oh, right," Luke nodded. "Forgot about that."  
  
"Remember, I told you yesterday that she invited us all for dinner," Lorelai said. "Are you gonna come? You don't have to stay for the trying- on-dresses part, but you can stop by and get something to eat."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Maybe."  
  
Lorelai stood up and patted Rory on the shoulder. "Okay, let's go, hon."  
  
"You don't want coffee or anything?" Luke asked, gesturing to the coffeemaker behind him.  
  
Rory shook her head as she stood up. "Freddy doesn't allow drinks in his store. Mom tried to sneak one in her coat one time because she didn't want to throw it out yet, and Freddy saw the coffee steam coming out of her pocket and yelled at her."  
  
Lorelai frowned and nodded. "Can you believe that? Now I only go in there with other people so they can restrain me from attacking him out of built- up anger."  
  
Rory rolled his eyes. "Even you're not stupid enough to attack Freddy. Didn't he used to be a professional football player or a sumo-wrestler or something?"  
  
Lorelai made a face. "I don't know, but thanks for putting the image of him in a diaper in my head, ugh!"  
  
"Yeah, well. . . don't attack him because I can't protect you," Luke said. "Attack someone smaller."  
  
"So I should only attack people after certifying that you can take 'em out if need be?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Okay, good," Lorelai said. She turned to Rory. "We have to go home and make a list of all the people we don't like, and then we'll find out which ones we're allowed to attack."  
  
"Sounds good," Rory replied. "Now let's go get the photo album." She started walking to the door, calling, "Bye Luke" over her shoulder.  
  
"Bye," he replied. "Try to keep her out of trouble, okay?"  
  
Rory turned around and smiled. "I will."  
  
He turned back to Lorelai. "See you later. Be good."  
  
Lorelai leaned across the counter and kissed him. "I will. Bye." She turned and followed Rory out the door and onto the sidewalk.  
  
They walked quietly down the street, and Lorelai glanced over at Rory, who was staring off into space. "You okay? You seem to be shifting into these pensive moods a lot lately."  
  
Rory nodded. "I'm fine."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Mmhmm." They walked for another block in silence before Rory muttered, "I feel like such a jerk sometimes."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened and she stopped walking. "What?" She grabbed Rory's arm and turned her so they were standing face to face.  
  
Rory glanced down at the sidewalk. "I feel like a jerk."  
  
Lorelai lifted up Rory's chin and frowned sympathetically. "Why? What happened?"  
  
"Nothing happened," Rory replied.  
  
"Rory, people don't usually just walk along berating themselves for no reason," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Talk to me. . .please?"  
  
Rory exhaled loudly and folded her arms across her chest. She shifted her feet uncomfortably and glanced down at the sidewalk. "Sometimes I feel bad for. . . " Her voice trailed off.  
  
"For?" Lorelai prompted, gesturing for her to continue.  
  
"For. . . liking Luke better than Dad," Rory finished quietly, bringing her gaze up to meet Lorelai's.  
  
Lorelai's face softened and she pulled Rory into a hug. "Aw, honey. . ."  
  
"It's just. . .when you guys got engaged, I was thinking to myself, 'Luke's going to be my stepfather', and that made me happy and everything. . . but then it made me realize that . . .that label isn't right for him because it already feels like Luke is the real father. . .and Dad's just. . . some guy I call Dad," Rory said. "And I feel so awful for thinking that because - "  
  
Lorelai pulled back from the hug and shook her head. "Don't - you have nothing to feel bad about, I mean it." She put her arm around Rory's shoulder and began walking down the sidewalk again. "Listen, we're gonna go get the album, and then we're gonna go home, and while we put the pictures in, we're gonna talk about this stuff. I think we both have some things we need to get out about this. I've been thinking about it lately, too."  
  
"Yeah?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yup. So what do you say. . .time for a nice mother/daughter chat?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Yeah. . .okay."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 51  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, Lorelai and Rory arrived home with the photo album. Lorelai dropped her purse on the hallway table and shrugged. "So. . .kitchen?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Kitchen."  
  
They walked into the kitchen and cleared off the table, then sat down with the photo album and the box of pictures. Lorelai opened the box and said, "I think they're pretty much stacked in order, so. . .do you wanna be the hander-person or the put-in-person?"  
  
Rory let out a small laugh. "Excuse me?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "The hander-person or the put-in person. I think it's pretty much self-explanatory."  
  
"Only in your twisted mind, Mom," Rory replied. "Now please clarify."  
  
"Do you want to hand the pictures to me so I can put them in - thus making you the hander-person - or do you want me to hand them to you so you can put them in - thus making you the put-in person?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Ah. Um . . .I guess I'll be the hander-person."  
  
"Okay, that makes me the put-in person." Lorelai reached for the photo album and opened it up to the first page. "Start handing 'em over."  
  
"Okay." Rory took out a stack of pictures and handed the top one to Lorelai, who slipped it into the plastic pocket of the album. They continued for a few minutes, commenting about each of the photographs as they placed them in the album.  
  
After awhile, Lorelai finally said, "So. . .honey, talk to me about what's on your mind." Rory didn't say anything; instead, she handed Lorelai another picture and then glanced down at the next one.  
  
After narrowing her eyes at Rory, Lorelai slipped the photo into the album, then shut it and pushed it aside. She moved her chair closer to Rory's and placed a hand on her arm. "Come on, tell me what you're thinking."  
  
Rory took a deep breath and shrugged. "I don't really know exactly what I'm thinking."  
  
Lorelai stared at Rory for a few seconds, then said, "Honey, sometimes it's okay to have a little less integrity than Mother Teresa."  
  
Rory narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Lorelai rubbed Rory's forearm. "Rory, I know you - you're always nice and sweet and you like to see the good in people. You don't wanna say bad things about your Dad, and I completely get that. . . but trust me, the only way to really talk about this is for us to be completely open, okay?" Lorelai gestured around her. "I mean, look around, he's not here. . . unless he's bugged the place, he won't hear you if you say anything mean."  
  
Rory nodded. "I know he won't."  
  
Lorelai stood up and grabbed Rory's hand. "Come on, this is a couch conversation." She pulled Rory into the living room. "Sit down over there." Lorelai pointed to one end of the couch. Rory obliged as Lorelai walked over to the armchair and grabbed two blankets from behind it.  
  
She walked back over and handed one of the blankets to Rory, then sat down on the other end of the couch. When they were both comfortable and settled under their blankets, Lorelai said, "Okay, let's talk. . . no holds barred."  
  
Rory nodded. "Okay."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "All right."  
  
They were both silent for a few seconds as they stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak.  
  
Finally, Rory said, "You go first."  
  
Lorelai pushed her hair behind her ears and nodded. "Okay." She exhaled slowly. "Okay, how should we start this? Um, well, you and I. . . we both know that your Dad's not in the same category as Danny Tanner or Mike Brady or Cliff Huxtable. . . or any of those other dads who were always there for their kids. That's a given, right? We know that."  
  
Rory nodded. "We know that."  
  
"Okay, good. But that's something that we've always just accepted. We've always just assumed that he'd never be around, that it was just you and me. And, throughout the years, when he did randomly make an effort to be involved, what did we do?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "We were happy about it."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, we acted like it was the greatest thing, right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"And when he recently started getting involved more consistently, with the visits and the phone calls and everything - we were really excited about that, too," Lorelai said. "We thought it was pretty cool of him, right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Which it is," she confirmed. "I think it's great that he's sort of turned his life around and is trying to be apart of your life now." She paused and pressed her palms together as she thought for a moment. "That said, the thing that I've been thinking about lately, the thing that's bringing up all this bitterness in me, is. . .why did he leave in the first place?"  
  
"Because you said you didn't want to marry him," Rory replied.  
  
"Very true, I did say that," Lorelai agreed. "But let's look at this. . .I said that I didn't wanna marry him, but did that mean that he had to leave? Did me saying that I didn't want to become Mrs. Christopher Hayden imply that it was okay for him to move three thousand miles away and not be involved in your life at all?"  
  
"No, but he wanted to leave," Rory said.  
  
"Exactly!" Lorelai exclaimed, pointing her finger at Rory.  
  
Rory narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, exactly?"  
  
Lorelai gestured animatedly and she spoke quickly, "I mean that he wanted to leave - he didn't want to stay here anymore, he didn't want to help me raise you. This isn't about me, this is about you - this is about how he didn't care that he was going to miss so much of your life. Sure, he followed the proper etiquette by asking me to marry him. He thought that that was the thing he needed to do to take responsibility for his actions, and when I said no to his offer, he figured that his duties as impregnator were over and that he was free to do whatever he wanted."  
  
Rory sat back against the arm of the couch and listened intently to Lorelai's rant, realizing that her and Lorelai were both thinking the same things about Christopher.  
  
Lorelai's voice softened slightly as she continued, "Now. . .I know that not marrying him was the right thing to do . . .but sometimes I told myself that I shouldn't have been so adamant about not needing his help - for your sake, at least. I've scolded myself for being so fiercely stubborn and independent back then."  
  
A small smile appeared on Rory's lips. "Back then?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay, so I'm still fiercely stubborn and independent."  
  
"Yes, you are," Rory agreed.  
  
Lorelai stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds before she continued. "And for a long time I blamed myself for him leaving, but. . . now I'm finally realizing that it was never my fault that he left. . . I didn't make him leave."  
  
"I know you didn't," Rory assured her. "He made the choice himself to leave."  
  
"Exactly. I mean, me saying no to his proposal didn't automatically void his responsibilities as a father," Lorelai said. "He should've realized that. An honorable man would've wanted to be apart of your life from the beginning."  
  
"Right." Rory paused a moment before she added, "But he didn't want to. . . so he left."  
  
"So, the question is, why do we act like it never happened?" Lorelai asked with a shrug. "Why have we always just brushed aside the past - we were living in a potting shed while he was living it up carefree in California, yet we still refused to place any blame on him. . .why is that?"  
  
Rory didn't have an answer. She glanced down at the blanket covering her legs and pulled off a piece of lint. She sighed softly and said, "I don't know. . . because it's easier just to forget about it. . . it's better to concentrate on the present than to dwell on the past."  
  
"Like I said, I think the whole thing with me right now, the thing that's starting to get me really upset, is not the fact that he left, but the fact that he didn't care about you enough to want to stay. I think my feelings for him stood in the way of me really seeing who he was, but when I step back and look at it objectively, I'm realizing. . .what a jerk he was to do that." Lorelai swallowed hard and stared down at the blanket for a few seconds. She finally glanced up at Rory and said, "All right, your turn to share - tell me what's going on in that gigantic brain of yours."  
  
Rory shrugged and glanced toward the mantle. She turned back to Lorelai and hugged her knees against her chest. "Usually, when I'm with Dad, I spend a lot of time comparing him to you. Every time he does something, I think, 'that's not how Mom would do it', or every time he says something, I think, 'Mom would've said this instead.' Just. . .everything reminds me of you."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Aw."  
  
Rory cleared her throat before she continued. "He just tries so hard to be like you. He wants to have what you and I have, the type of relationship that we have. And at first, I felt kind of special that he wanted to have that with me after all these years. . . but now, it's like the more he tries to build this relationship, the more I think about the reason that we don't have that relationship in the first place - because he left. And when I start thinking about that, about what he did to us, it makes me wonder - father or not, do I even really want this kind of relationship with a man who did that to us? Why do I care about building a relationship with a man who didn't care about me enough to want to help raise me?"  
  
As Lorelai listened to Rory's words, she found herself surprised - not only by the fact that Rory seemed to be thinking about things much more seriously than Lorelai had thought she was, but also by the fact that her thoughts were so similar to Lorelai's.  
  
Lorelai frowned sympathetically. "Aw, Sweetie, I know how you feel."  
  
Rory nodded. They were both silent for a moment before Rory said quietly, "During the last visit, for some reason, not only was I comparing Dad to you, but I also started comparing him with Luke."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Luke, really?"  
  
Rory nodded. "I just had to step back and look at it from another angle, and it made me realize some important things."  
  
"Like?" Lorelai prompted.  
  
"Well. . .it came down to this - Luke didn't have to be there for us but he was, and Dad was supposed to be there but he wasn't." Rory shrugged. "I mean, comparing the character of those two. . .it's pretty darn obvious which one is more deserving of my love and admiration as a father - and it's not the guy I call Dad. And I felt bad thinking like that, I really did . . . but now I realize that I shouldn't. Luke's more important in my life than Dad is, Luke's more of a father to me than Dad is. . .and it's not my fault that's how it is - it's Dad's. Maybe he should get some pointers from Luke about how to be a good man."  
  
Lorelai's mouth dropped open slightly and tears formed in her eyes. Rory noticed, and she narrowed her eyes with concern. "Mom, are you okay?"  
  
Lorelai nodded as she sniffled. "Mmhmm." She wiped her tears. "Just. . .hearing you talk about Luke like that. . .it's just sweet. It makes everything seem. . .right." Lorelai held out her arms. "Come here, kid."  
  
Rory smiled and crawled over to Lorelai's side of the couch. They lay next to each other and Rory rested her head on Lorelai's shoulder. "I feel like I'm five years old," Rory said with a laugh. She closed her eyes and whispered, "I love you, Mom."  
  
"I love you, too." Lorelai kissed the top of her head. She patted Rory's arm and said, "Keep talking. Don't stop until you get everything out."  
  
Rory let out a long sigh. "Well. . . I don't know. . .I still love Dad, but I'm probably never gonna be able to forgive him, as much as I wish I could. If things were different, if there were other circumstances that contributed to the fact that he wasn't there, then maybe I'd be able to forgive him, but . . .just like you said, the fact that he didn't want to be there - that just makes it even worse than it already was."  
  
"Mm, I know what you mean," Lorelai muttered. "Great minds think alike."  
  
"I'm gonna let things keep going as they have been, with the visits and the phone calls and everything," Rory said. "And if he wants to think that this relationship is progressing, then let him think that. Frankly, it's probably never gonna get beyond the point it's at now, but he'll have to discover that the hard way."  
  
They talked for a few more minutes before they finally walked back into the kitchen and continued working on the photo album.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Luke arrived home from the diner and found the girls on the front porch talking to Babette. Luke walked over and greeted them, and Babette winked at him. "How ya doin', doll?"  
  
"Uh, good, thanks," Luke replied. "How 'bout yourself?"  
  
"Oh, I'm good, too," Babette replied. "I was just telling the girls here how much me and Morey like the new truck."  
  
Luke smiled and glanced over at it. "Thanks, I like it, too." He placed a hand on the small of Lorelai's back. "What time are we leaving for Sookie's?"  
  
Lorelai turned and smiled at him. "You're gonna go?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Aw, good," Lorelai replied. "She said to come around seven."  
  
Luke glanced down at his watch. "Okay, I'm gonna go take a shower." As he started walking toward the front door, he looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Bye Babette."  
  
"Buh-bye," she called. When he disappeared through the front door, Babette grinned and nudged Lorelai. "Ooh, God, he's so cute you could just eat 'em up!"  
  
Lorelai giggled and nudged her back. "I know!"  
  
Babette fanned herself with her hand. "And now he's going up to take a shower - my God, I'm glad Morey's not here to see me get all hot and bothered."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Babette!" she exclaimed with a laugh.  
  
Rory cleared her throat and raised her hand. "Minor here, thank you."  
  
Babette smiled. "Oh, sorry, sugar. . .I better get back home. See you girls later." She turned and walked down the porch steps.  
  
"Bye," Lorelai said.  
  
"Bye Babette," Rory said. She turned to Lorelai. "I was thinking that we should bring something to Sookie's."  
  
"We are," Lorelai replied. "We're bringing the album. Duh - did you forget already?" She turned and walked toward the front door.  
  
Rory followed her into the house. "No, I mean, like a dessert or something."  
  
Lorelai turned around and grimaced. "Ooh, maybe you're right." She patted the pockets of her shorts, then reached in and pulled out a folded up twenty. "Here, run to Weston's and pick something up - something small, though, because I'm sure Sookie made a ton of stuff for us anyway."  
  
"Okay." Rory shoved the money into her pocket and walked out the front door.  
  
Lorelai walked upstairs and found the bedroom door shut. "Luke, it's me," she called, knocking on it lightly.  
  
"It's open," he replied.  
  
She walked through the door and shut it behind her. Luke was sitting at the foot of the bed taking his shoes off. Lorelai climbed onto the bed and kneeled behind him, then wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his back. "Hi."  
  
"Hey." He finished removing his shoes, then reached his arm behind him to stroke her hair. "What's up?"  
  
"Mm, nothing much," Lorelai replied. "Rory went to run an errand."  
  
"Oh yeah? Where'd she go?" Luke asked.  
  
"To the bakery to get a dessert to bring to Sookie's," Lorelai replied. After a few seconds, she let go of him and leaned back against the bed. She put her hands behind her head and watched as he stood up and pulled off his shirt. "Ooh, feel like giving me a strip tease? Maybe do a sexy little dance?" He rolled his eyes and threw his shirt at her, and it landed on her face. She laughed and pulled it off. "Guess that's a no," she said, tossing the shirt on the floor.  
  
Luke smiled as he unbuckled his belt and pulled it out of the loops. He dropped it on the floor, then climbed on the bed between her legs. He leaned over her body and kissed her, then pulled back and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "What did you do all afternoon? Did you get a photo album?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, we did. It looks really nice."  
  
"Good." He kissed her again, this time more aggressively, and she moaned softly as their tongues swirled over one another. He pulled back, then slipped her shirt up over her head and tossed it aside. He leaned back over her and began sucking on her neck as he ran a hand down to rub her thigh, evoking a small groan from Lorelai. She closed her eyes as he began kissing down her chest to her navel.  
  
He ran his tongue over her stomach, and she felt his hands move to the top of her shorts. She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling as he unbuttoned them and started pulling the zipper down.  
  
He pulled her shorts off and ran his hands over her legs. As he began kissing along her thighs, Lorelai swallowed hard and muttered, "Luke, maybe now's not the best time to do this."  
  
Surprised, he lifted his head up to look at her. "Why not? Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine, but . . ." Lorelai's voice trailed off and she closed her eyes. He waited for her to say more, and when she didn't, he began kissing across her stomach.  
  
A few seconds later, Lorelai propped herself up on her elbows. "I wanna talk about Christopher." She bit her bottom lip and waited for his response.  
  
Luke froze momentarily before he slowly lifted his head up from her stomach. "Well, that just killed the mood." He pushed himself off of her and sat up.  
  
Lorelai sat up and crossed her legs in front of her. "I know, I'm so sorry. . . but I can't do this while I have him on my mind."  
  
"Uh huh. . .and why exactly is he on your mind?" Luke asked. "Did he call?"  
  
"No. . .Rory and I talked about him," Lorelai explained. "We had a very interesting chat. . . and surprisingly, we both had the same things to say."  
  
"What do you mean?" Luke asked.  
  
"I mean, that both of us had a lot of mixed feelings about him that we were trying to hide," Lorelai said. "But we both got them all out, and it turned out that she feels exactly like I do."  
  
"And how do you feel?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai leaned back against the headboard and sighed. "I feel like. . .he's an ass for not wanting to raise his daughter."  
  
"He is," Luke muttered.  
  
"I've said to it Sookie, I've said it to Rory, and now I'll say it to you - it's not just the fact that he wasn't there that gets me mad, it's the fact that he didn't want to be there," Lorelai said, shaking her head angrily. "I mean, he could've stayed - he could've done that whole stupid Internet startup thing around here. Just because I didn't wanna marry him - "  
  
"Doesn't mean that he had to leave," Luke finished. "He still should've been there for Rory. Exactly the point I was trying to make the other day."  
  
"Yeah, and you were right - I have to stop letting the couple of times that he was actually acting fatherly overshadow all the times when he was a deadbeat. I mean, he let us down so many times over the years, but the minute he did something right, I'd always forget about the bad stuff." Lorelai pursed her lips and shook her head disappointedly. "I shouldn't have done that. And he says that he hated not being apart of Rory's life, that he regrets not being there for her - but what the hell was stopping him? Nobody forced him to move across the country, nobody made him stay away from her - he did that himself!"  
  
Luke nodded and stroked her arm. "I know."  
  
Lorelai took a few deep breaths. "I mean, he thinks that just because the term 'father' applies to him biologically that it makes him a real father." Lorelai shook her head. "But it's what you do that makes you a father, and he's not a father to her." She paused a moment, then smiled at Luke. "You are."  
  
Luke smiled shyly and glanced down at the bed.  
  
Lorelai smiled and grabbed his hand. "I mean it, Luke. I know it, Rory knows it . . .hell, this whole town probably knows it. You're more of a father to her than he could ever be."  
  
Luke shrugged. "Yeah, well. . .I try."  
  
Lorelai smiled and pulled him on top of her as she leaned back against the pillow. He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her deeply as she stroked his arms.  
  
He pulled back and glanced over at the clock. "I still have to take a shower."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Okay." They stared at each other for a moment before Luke leaned down to kiss her again. After a few seconds, Lorelai smiled through the kiss and patted him on the shoulder. "Go, we have to leave soon."  
  
"All right, I'm goin'." Luke pushed himself off of her and climbed off the bed.  
  
"Thanks for the chat," Lorelai said as she sat up. "Well, for listening to me chat."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
She smiled. "And, uh, next time I'll try to bring up the chat topic before you start stripping my clothes off."  
  
Luke smirked. "I'd appreciate that." He walked out the door as Lorelai climbed off the bed and got dressed.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later at Sookie and Jackson's house, after dinner, Sookie led Lorelai and Rory to the guest room while the guys went into the living room.  
  
Sookie opened the closet and pulled out the two dresses. She handed them to the girls and said, "There ya go. Call me when you're ready."  
  
"Okay," Lorelai replied. Sookie walked out of the room and pulled the door closed behind her, and the girls started changing.  
  
"Hey, have you thought about your bridesmaids' dresses?" Rory asked.  
  
"Not really," Lorelai replied with a shrug. "They'll probably just be regular dresses like these."  
  
"Have you thought about what color you want?" Rory asked.  
  
"Yeah, I was thinking we could go with plaid," Lorelai replied.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "Mom."  
  
"What?" Lorelai exclaimed. "I'm serious - there's nothing more appropriate for Luke than plaid. . . he'd be so excited if we all showed up in plaid dresses and backwards baseball caps."  
  
"Luke can borrow Jackson's kilt if he wants there to be plaid at the wedding," Rory said. She stifled her laughter. "Did you see that thing?"  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Oh my God," she whispered. "I almost choked on my pot roast. I would die if Luke wore something like that at our wedding!" She pulled her dress straps up and turned around. "Zip me up please."  
  
Rory complied, then turned around. "My turn."  
  
Lorelai zipped up Rory's dress, and as she turned around, gave her a nod of approval. "Looks amazing, babe."  
  
Rory smiled. "So does yours."  
  
Lorelai smiled and walked over to the mirror. "We both look pretty damn good, huh?"  
  
Rory walked over and draped her arm across Lorelai's shoulder. "Yes, we do."  
  
"Sookie!" Lorelai yelled. "We're done!"  
  
Rory grimaced and pulled away from Lorelai clutching her ear. "Ouch, warn me next time, please."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Oops, sorry."  
  
Sookie opened the door, saying, "Boy, that didn't take - " Her voice trailed off as she saw the girls, and she gasped. "Oh my gosh, you both look incredible!"  
  
Lorelai and Rory both smiled. "Thanks," Lorelai replied. "Can we go show the guys? You don't mind if they see them before the wedding, do you?"  
  
Sookie shook her head. "Nope, I don't mind."  
  
Lorelai grabbed Rory's hand and led her out the door, and Sookie followed them to the living room. Luke and Jackson were watching television and didn't notice them enter the room.  
  
Lorelai cleared her throat. "Here we are, the most beautiful bridesmaids in the world - what do you think?"  
  
Luke and Jackson brought their gaze from the television to the girls. Jackson smiled and nodded. "Looks good."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yup."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Come on, give us something more than that."  
  
Jackson shrugged. "Looks really good."  
  
Luke nodded and echoed, "Really good."  
  
As they both turned back toward the television, Rory rolled her eyes. "Forget them, I'm changing." She walked back to the guest room.  
  
Lorelai made a face at the guys. "You guys suck at compliments." She put her arm around Sookie. "Your future wives worked very hard on these dresses and we'd like a little credit."  
  
"Good job on the dresses," Jackson said, not looking away from the television screen.  
  
"Yeah, good job," Luke added, glancing over at them as he took a sip of his beer.  
  
Lorelai frowned at Sookie. "It's hopeless."  
  
Sookie patted her on the back. "I'll go get out the desserts."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You always know how to make me feel better."  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, as Lorelai, Rory, and Luke arrived home and walked up the front porch, Lorelai said, "Let's sit outside for a little while. It's such a nice night."  
  
Rory yawned. "You guys can, I'm going to bed." She pushed open the door, then looked back at them. "Don't stay out too late, you crazy kids."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, Mom."  
  
As Rory walked into the house, Lorelai took Luke's hand and led him over to the porch bench. They sat down and she snuggled up against him, resting her head against his chest.  
  
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Luke pulled her closer against his body and said, "Hey, you know what?"  
  
She turned to look at him. "What?"  
  
Luke smiled. "You looked incredible in that dress."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah."  
  
She leaned up and kissed him. "Thank you." She glanced around the yard, and when her eyes landed on the chuppah, she turned back to him. "Luke?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"When do you wanna get married?"  
  
Surprised, Luke raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean - like what date?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, let's set a date."  
  
"Right now?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah - have any in mind?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Not really. You know, we should really do this with a calendar in front of us."  
  
"Yeah. Okay, well, we can at least narrow it down to a season," Lorelai suggested. "Pick a season."  
  
Luke shrugged again. "Fall?"  
  
"This fall?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah. . . is that okay?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, a fall wedding'll be so pretty. As long as it's early fall so it's not too cold out."  
  
"Right."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay - so early fall, it is. We can pick a date sometime this week."  
  
"Okay."  
  
They sat quietly for a few seconds before Lorelai asked, "What about the honeymoon?"  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"Well, you want to go somewhere, right?" Lorelai asked hopefully. "I mean, you don't have some big rant filed away in your head about how honeymoons are an added expense and completely unnecessary, do you?"  
  
Luke smirked. "Well, I did before. . . when I thought I'd never get married."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "So . . .you wanna go somewhere?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah." He swallowed hard and added, "But. . ."  
  
Lorelai grimaced and she sat up straight. "Uh oh - but what?"  
  
Luke glanced down at his shoes. "Uh. . .I've never really been big with the whole 'flying in an airplane' thing. I'd rather just drive somewhere."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened slightly. "Oh."  
  
"I mean, we can still go somewhere. I'll drive you wherever you wanna go, but I just don't - "  
  
"Luke, it's okay," Lorelai interrupted, waving him off. "I don't really have a burning desire to fly off to some exotic location anyway. Plus, we've got a new SUV right there just begging for us to put some miles on it."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "You're sure you're okay with it?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Positive." She kissed him, then rested her head back against his shoulder. "The point of a honeymoon is to get away and have fun, right? We can do that anywhere. It doesn't have to be far away - it can be in Hartford for all I care."  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Well, I hope it's a little farther than that."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "That was just a hypothetical suggestion to show that I don't really mind where we go."  
  
Luke nodded. "I got it."  
  
Lorelai sighed softly. "Okay, are you ready for this? Now comes the most important question a prospective bride could ever ask her future husband. . ."  
  
Luke groaned. "Oh boy. . .what is it?"  
  
Lorelai lifted her head and smiled at him. "Do you think we should sleep together before we're properly wed, or do you not believe in premarital sex?" Luke laughed, and Lorelai placed a hand on her chest. "Because, personally, I'm completely against it."  
  
Smiling, Luke asked, "Oh yeah? You're against it?"  
  
Lorelai nodded, then shrugged. "Yup, but I'd be willing to go through with it if you want me to. It all depends on what you wanna do; the decision's all yours."  
  
Luke smirked. "Oh, good - I finally get to decide something in this relationship."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Hey, you have a lot of say in things."  
  
"Yeah, I have say. . .but it doesn't mean you actually listen to anything I say," he pointed out.  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Well. . .sometimes I do." She patted him on the thigh. "So, what's your decision?"  
  
Luke kissed her lips softly, then smiled. "My decision is that we go upstairs so I can finish what I started earlier."  
  
Lorelai sighed and shook her head slightly. "Well, I guess if you want me to compromise my beliefs, I'll do it." She jumped up off the bench and started walking toward the front door. "Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
The next afternoon, Lorelai and Luke sat at the kitchen table paying bills as Rory watched television in the living room. Luke picked up a credit card bill and read it over, then lowered the paper and glared at Lorelai across the table. "What did you buy at Bloomingdale's for two hundred dollars?"  
  
Lorelai looked up from the checkbook and wrinkled her nose. "Uh, I don't know - which time?"  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "You spent two hundred dollars at Bloomingdale's more than once?" He looked back down at the bill, then groaned loudly. "No, the second time you spent two hundred and sixty dollars." He put the paper down and stared at her questioningly.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "What? Rory and I needed new clothes! Plus, we needed new dresses for the shower, and I've already explained to you the importance of a high-quality dress."  
  
Luke shook his head slightly and handed her the bill. "Pay off three hundred. . . and next time wear an old dress."  
  
Lorelai frowned as she began writing out the check. She tore it out of the checkbook and handed it to Luke, and he stuffed it in the envelope and set it aside. He picked up another bill as the phone rang.  
  
"Rory?" Lorelai called.  
  
"Yeah, I'll get it!" she called back.  
  
Luke opened the bill and read through it, then handed it to her. "Mortgage."  
  
Lorelai made a face. "Again? Man, those people are so greedy, sheesh." She wrote out the check and handed it to him, and he put it in the envelope and set it aside.  
  
He picked up another bill and read through it, then held it out to her. "The water bill went up - start taking shorter showers."  
  
"Tsk, start taking shorter showers," she mimicked him. "Everything's my fault."  
  
As Lorelai started to write out the check, Rory walked into the kitchen with the phone. With one of her hands covering the mouthpiece, she said quietly, "Uh, Mom. . .it's Dad."  
  
Lorelai and Luke glanced at each other, then Lorelai brought her gaze to Rory. "Uh, what does he want?"  
  
"He's in the area and he wants to visit us," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "What? How can he be - why didn't he let us know he was coming?"  
  
"It was a last minute thing," Rory replied. "Some of Sherry's friends were in Springfield so she and Dad drove down to hang out with them, but Dad wants to give her a little time to spend with them alone."  
  
Lorelai glanced down at the table. "Well, isn't that. . .something."  
  
"Yeah, so he's gonna have some time to kill and he wanted to stop by for a little while," Rory said. "He wants to know if we'll be home."  
  
Lorelai glanced at Luke. "Should I tell him we'll be home?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "We can be home if you wanna be home. . . doesn't matter to me."  
  
Lorelai glanced up at Rory. "We don't have any plans, but . . .it's up to you, babe. If you wanna see him, then tell him to come."  
  
Rory took a deep breath and glanced down at the phone in her hand. She glanced at the table and saw both Lorelai and Luke staring at her. She stared down at the floor for a few seconds before she finally brought the phone up to her ear.  
  
"Dad. . ." Rory said. She swallowed hard and said, "I don't think we're gonna be home. . .okay. . .bye."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 52  
  
* * *  
  
As Rory pushed the off button on the phone, Lorelai and Luke looked at each other, both obviously surprised. They both slowly turned to look at Rory, who was staring down at the phone.  
  
"You okay, hon?" Lorelai asked softly.  
  
Rory looked up and nodded. "Yeah. . . yeah, I'm fine."  
  
Lorelai bit her bottom lip with doubtfulness. "You sure?"  
  
Rory forced a smile. "I'm sure." She gestured over her shoulder. "I'll be in the . . ." Her voice trailed off as she turned and walked back to the living room.  
  
Lorelai frowned at Luke and whispered, "That was probably really hard for her to do."  
  
Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, definitely."  
  
"But I understand it. I mean, that was a pretty intense conversation we had, it brought out a lot of feelings. . .she probably needs time for it to all settle before she sees him."  
  
Luke nodded. "She'll be okay." He gestured toward the papers in front of them. "Come on, let's finish these."  
  
* * *  
  
When they had finished paying the bills, Lorelai glanced at her watch. "Will you come with me to Freddy's?"  
  
"You were just there yesterday," Luke pointed out. "What do you need now?"  
  
"I forgot to bring the pictures I wanted to get enlarged," Lorelai said. "And you know I can't go in there alone."  
  
"Maybe you should ask Rory," Luke suggested.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Do you not wanna go that badly that you're gonna make me ask everyone else in town?"  
  
Luke lowered his voice and said, "No, I was thinking that she might wanna get out of the house so she's not just sitting around thinking about how she just lied to her father."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened slightly. "Oh. . .oh, good point. I'll go ask her." She stood up and walked toward the living room where Rory was sitting on the couch watching television. Lorelai leaned against the staircase railing. "Uh, hon?"  
  
Rory looked over at her. "Yeah?"  
  
"I have to run to Freddy's again - do you wanna come for a walk with me?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Rory shook her head. "No, thanks."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "You sure? Might be good to get out of the house."  
  
Rory turned back to the television. "Nah, I'm good."  
  
Lorelai lingered in the living room for a moment staring at Rory sympathetically before she walked back to the kitchen. "She doesn't wanna go. She seems. . ."  
  
"Upset?"  
  
"I don't know, I think she's just . . .overwhelmed. She's just got a lot of things going on in her head right now."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, poor kid."  
  
Lorelai walked over to the counter and picked up an envelope. "So, will you come with me?" she asked hopefully. "Please?"  
  
Luke stood up. "Fine, let's go."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." They walked toward the front door and Lorelai grabbed her purse from the hall table. "Rory, we'll be back in a little bit. We'll stop and get coffee from the diner."  
  
"Okay," she replied, not looking over from the couch.  
  
Luke and Lorelai stepped out onto the porch and began walking toward the center of town. "Which pictures are you blowing up?" Luke asked.  
  
"Ooh, let me show you," Lorelai said. She opened the envelope and pulled out a picture of her and Rory. "This one."  
  
"Nice," he commented.  
  
"Yeah, I wanna make it a five by seven and put it up on the mantle." She put it back in the envelope and pulled out the one of her and Luke. "And then this one that you already knew about, which will be an eleven by fourteen." She smiled at it for a few seconds before she put it back into the envelope and stuck it in her purse.  
  
Luke sighed. "And I suppose you're gonna wanna hang that one up on the wall somewhere?"  
  
"That would be correct," she confirmed, nodding her head.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Great."  
  
Lorelai smirked and linked her arm through his. "It's just a picture, Luke."  
  
"I hate pictures."  
  
"I know you do," Lorelai replied.  
  
"They're embarrassing."  
  
"No, they're not - they're cute, especially that one. Need I remind you of what that picture represents?" She held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers in front of his face.  
  
Luke pushed her hand away. "One of these days you're gonna get a cramp from doing that," he muttered. "Or someone's gonna get so annoyed that they just rip your whole hand off."  
  
"Yeah, well, as long I still have one hand to drink coffee with, it'll be okay," she replied. She paused a moment, then frowned. "Ooh, but then I'd have to give up on my dream of becoming Amy Wynn because I'd think that carpentry work would be pretty hard with just one hand."  
  
"Probably," Luke agreed. "But, then again, being one handed didn't make Jim Abbott give up on his dreams."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes with confusion. "Who? You mean the guy from Abbott and Costello? I thought his name was Bud."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "No, Jim Abbott - the baseball player."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You expect me to know a baseball player? I couldn't name one if my life depended on it."  
  
"Yeah, well, now you know one - Jim Abbott," Luke said. "He has a pretty interesting story."  
  
"Oh yeah? What did he do - kick a big field goal or something?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke smiled and shook his head slightly. "Okay, first off, you kick field goals in football, not baseball."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Whatever - go on."  
  
"He was a pitcher. . .uh, you do know what a pitcher is, right?" Luke teased.  
  
Lorelai nudged him with her elbow and mimicked, "You do know what a pitcher is, right?" She stuck her tongue out at him. "Yes, I do."  
  
Luke smiled. "Okay, just checkin'. Anyway, he was born without a right hand. . . but he played baseball in the major leagues for like ten years."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Wow, a one-handed baseball player. . . that's impressive."  
  
"Yeah, and he threw a no-hitter once," Luke told her.  
  
"Oh, that's - " Lorelai hesitated a moment, then asked, "That's good, right?" Luke nodded. She smiled and said, "Oh, then, good for him."  
  
"Yeah, and he had his ups and downs, but just the fact that he was even in the majors was really cool. Some people spend their entire careers in the minor leagues, but he went right to the majors outta college - skipped the minors completely," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Wow, you know a lot about him, huh?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah." He glanced over at her. "Sorry, I know you couldn't care less about this stuff. I'll shut up now."  
  
"No, don't." Lorelai reached down and laced her fingers through his. "I like listening to you talk about it."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes. "You do?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, it. . .makes you happy." She rolled her eyes and added, "And if you can listen to me rattle on for twenty minutes about how 'Roseanne' ended with the stupidest season ever, complete with the most confusing series finale ever, then I can listen to you talk about sports."  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, that was quite a rant you gave this morning."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I know, and you just sat there and listened without complaining." She gestured for him to continue. "So, go on. . .Jim Abbott. . ."  
  
They walked for a few seconds before Luke turned to her and said, "Ya know, I actually saw him pitch once at Yankee Stadium once."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yup." Luke nodded and continued talking about it as they walked to the store.  
  
* * *  
  
Ten minutes later, they walked out of the photo shop and started walking toward the diner. When they were halfway there, Lorelai's cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and answered, "Hello?"  
  
"Mom?" Rory's voice replied. "I called him back."  
  
Lorelai stopped walking. "What? Who?" Luke stopped and stared at her questioningly.  
  
"Dad - I called him back and told him that we would be home," Rory explained, speaking quickly. "I don't know why. I just felt so bad about lying to him and I was just sitting here staring at the phone and then before I even knew what I was doing, I was dialing his cell phone number and I was talking to him and telling him that we'd changed our plans and that we'd be home, and he said he'd be here in an hour." She paused to catch her breath. "I just. . .I don't know why I did it. . . I'm sorry. . .he said he's not leaving there for another half hour so I still have time to call him back and tell him - "  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Lorelai interrupted. "Rory, calm down, it's okay, it's fine."  
  
"What is it?" Luke whispered.  
  
Lorelai held up her finger, indicating for him to wait a second. "Sweets, listen to me. . .he'll come, we'll order a pizza or something, we'll talk a little, he'll leave - everything will be fine. Now, Luke and I are gonna stop at the diner and get some coffee, then we'll be home."  
  
Rory sighed. "So you're not mad?"  
  
"Of course I'm not mad," Lorelai assured her. "I promise."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"I'll see you in a few minutes."  
  
"Okay," Rory replied. "Bye."  
  
"Bye." Lorelai hung up the phone and sighed loudly. As she slipped it back into her purse, she said, "She felt bad about lying to Christopher so she called him back and told him to come. "  
  
Surprised, Luke raised his eyebrows. "Really? So he's coming?"  
  
Lorelai nodded as they continued walking toward the diner. "Yup, he'll be here in an hour."  
  
"Huh." He glanced over at her. "You okay with that?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I'm fine. It's no big deal. I was gonna see him again eventually."  
  
"Yeah, but yesterday, you were pretty mad - "  
  
"Luke, it's fine," she interrupted, waving him off. "Like I told Rory, he'll come, we'll eat dinner, he'll leave - we'll just act normally and try to forget the fact that he's not on my list of favorite people right now."  
  
Luke nodded. "Okay."  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, Luke was upstairs in the shower while Lorelai and Rory were in the living room waiting for Christopher. Lorelai was on the couch flipping through a magazine while Rory paced back and forth in front of the window.  
  
When he finally pulled up, Rory stopped pacing and turned toward Lorelai. "He's here."  
  
Lorelai dropped the magazine on the coffee table and walked over to her. "You okay?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yup, I'm completely fine," Rory replied nonchalantly.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Right - you pacing nonstop for the past ten minutes is totally normal."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes and walked to the front door, and Lorelai followed behind her. They waited until they heard footsteps on the porch before Lorelai pulled the door open.  
  
Christopher smiled when he saw them. "Hey guys."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Hey."  
  
He stepped into the house and gave Lorelai a kiss on the cheek, then turned to Rory and hugged her tightly. "Hey kiddo."  
  
"Hey Dad," Rory said. "How was the drive?"  
  
Chris pulled back from the hug. "Not bad. There's not much traffic on Sundays."  
  
Lorelai gestured for him to follow her as she walked into the living room. "Well, come in and sit down." She sat down in the armchair near the fireplace as Rory and Christopher sat on the couch.  
  
"So. . .whose truck is that out front?" Christopher asked. "Looks new."  
  
"Oh, it's Luke's," Rory replied. "He just got it last week."  
  
"Really? It's nice," Christopher commented, nodding approvingly.  
  
"I helped pick it out," Lorelai said.  
  
Christopher smiled. "Well, good work, then."  
  
"Thank you," Lorelai replied, smiling proudly.  
  
"Speaking of the new truck owner himself, where is he?" Christopher asked.  
  
"He's upstairs," Lorelai replied. "He'll be down in a few minutes. Uh, did you eat dinner? We were thinking we could get a pizza in a little bit."  
  
"Sounds good," Christopher replied with a nod. He glanced around the room. "You know, you can't even really tell a man lives here. Did you guys let him bring any of his own things?"  
  
"Yeah, we gave him a Ziplock baggie and told him he could bring whatever he could fit into it," Lorelai replied.  
  
Christopher laughed. "Ah, now it makes sense. And Luke just went along with that plan?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yup. He knows it's in his best interest to do whatever it takes to keep us happy."  
  
"Huh, remind me to have a talk with him later," Christopher said. "I bet I can give him a few hints on how to handle you girls."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt you can tell him anything he doesn't already know."  
  
"Yeah, Luke knows us better than anyone else . . ." Rory's voice trailed off and she started fidgeting with her bracelet. "He's been around us a long time."  
  
Lorelai noticed Rory's bitter tone and quickly stood up. "Uh, Chris. . .you want a drink?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," he replied. "I'll help you." He stood up and patted Rory on the shoulder. "You want anything?"  
  
Not looking up at him, Rory shook her head. As Lorelai and Christopher started walking toward the kitchen, Rory looked up and blurted out, "Mom and Luke are getting married."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened and she froze in mid-step. She grimaced slightly and continued staring toward the kitchen as Christopher slowly turned around to look at Rory. "What?"  
  
"Mom and Luke are getting married," Rory repeated.  
  
Christopher glanced over at Lorelai. "Really, Lor?"  
  
Lorelai slowly turned around. She glanced past Christopher and gave Rory a surprised look before she brought her gaze back to him and forced a smile. "Uh. . .yeah, she speaks the truth. I was gonna wait for Luke to come down so we could tell you together, but. . .yeah, we're getting married." She held out her left hand toward Christopher.  
  
He took her hand into his and looked down at the ring. "Wow. . .this is. . ." He shook his head slightly before he slowly brought his gaze up to look into her eyes. He gave a small smile and said, "Wow. . .congratulations." He leaned forward and hugged her tightly.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks." As they pulled apart, Lorelai cleared her throat and patted him on the shoulder. "Uh, so, what about that drink, huh?" She gestured toward the kitchen.  
  
Christopher nodded and started walking to the kitchen as Lorelai lingered in the living room.  
  
When he was out of site, Lorelai walked over to Rory and whispered. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I don't know why I said that, I'm so sorry," Rory whispered. "I swear, it just came out, I couldn't stop myself. I just. . .he was. . .I don't know. . ."  
  
"You coming?" Christopher called from the kitchen.  
  
"Uh, yeah, be right there!" Lorelai called back. She leaned down and whispered, "No, it's no big deal, but are you okay? I mean, maybe it was too early to see him after all the venting we did the other day. Do you want me to make up an excuse and get him to leave?"  
  
Rory shook her head. "No, I'll be okay."  
  
"Okay. I'll get you some iced tea or something," Lorelai said. She turned around and walked into the kitchen where Christopher was peering into the refrigerator. "Sorry about that," Lorelai said. "Rory decided she wanted a drink but then she couldn't make up her mind so I had to slowly assess her thirst level and help her come up with a viable option. Everything's okay now."  
  
Christopher nodded as he shut the refrigerator door. "Good."  
  
Lorelai walked to the cabinet and pulled out some glasses. "Well, the good news is that Luke makes us get rid of all the outdated beverages, so anything you're craving in the fridge is sure to be non-expirational."  
  
Christopher walked up behind her. "Lorelai, what are you doing?"  
  
Lorelai slowly turned around and shrugged. "Getting us some drinks?"  
  
Christopher folded his arms across his chest. "I'm talking about you getting engaged."  
  
Lorelai set the glasses down on the counter and instantly became defensive. "What about me getting engaged?" she asked indignantly.  
  
"Don't you think you're moving a little too fast?" Christopher asked.  
  
"No, actually, I don't, but thanks for asking," she replied haughtily. She folded her arms across her chest and pursed her lips. "Any other questions you wanna ask whose answers are none of your business?"  
  
"Yeah, are you forgetting that you were engaged to another man this time last year?" Christopher asked.  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "What the hell is your point, Chris?"  
  
"Nothing, I'm just wondering if this is gonna be an annual thing," Christopher said. "Are you gonna get engaged to every guy you go out with and then toss him aside when someone better comes along?"  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She clenched her teeth together tightly and said, "You have absolutely no right to talk to me like that."  
  
Christopher took a deep breath. "I'm just saying that. . . maybe you should think a little before you go making all these big decisions, Lor."  
  
"No, maybe I should just check with you before I make any choices in my life," Lorelai retorted. "Next time I'm at a drive thru and I can't make up my mind between barbecue sauce or sweet and sour sauce for my chicken fingers, I'll be sure to get your input before I make any spur of the moment decisions!"  
  
Christopher shook his head toward the ground. "Look, I'm not trying to get into a fight with you here, Lorelai. I'm just saying that. . . I know you don't always think things through all the time. Just think this out and make sure that this is really what you want. How do you know that this engagement won't end like the last one?"  
  
"Because this one's different," Lorelai replied loudly. "And it's none of your business what I do with my life anyway!"  
  
"Yeah, well, Rory is my business!" he retorted. "Did you talk this out with her? Have you actually taken the time to get her take on all of this? To see how she feels about you making these decisions that affect both of your lives? Think about her for a change, Lorelai!"  
  
Lorelai felt her face reddening as her anger started to build up inside of her. "Oh my God! You are the absolute last person in this entire world who should be telling me how to raise that kid in there!" Lorelai exclaimed, pointing toward the living room.  
  
Christopher scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"You know exactly what it means!" Lorelai yelled. She shook her head toward the ground. "Why did you do it, Chris? Just tell me why the hell you did it so I can stop wondering about it."  
  
"What did I do?"  
  
"Why did you leave me to raise a kid all by myself?"  
  
Christopher's mouth dropped open. "Why are. . .what did. . .where'd that question come from?"  
  
"It came from this little area of my brain that has been struggling to figure out why you wouldn't want to help me raise our daughter, that's where it's coming from," Lorelai told him.  
  
"Hey, I wanted to help raise - "  
  
"Oh, don't give me that, Christopher!" Lorelai interrupted. "If you wanted to help then you would've stayed, so just tell me the truth or don't say anything at all. Tell me why you thought it was perfectly fine for you to not take any kind of responsibility for your actions."  
  
"I tried to take responsibility!"  
  
"Oh really? How?"  
  
Christopher exhaled loudly. "Did I, or did I not, ask you to marry me? And did you, or did you not, turn me down?"  
  
"That doesn't mean that your job as a father was over - you had a daughter, Christopher!" Lorelai yelled. "Why did you run as far away from her as you could?"  
  
"Because you didn't want me to stay!" he yelled. "You told me you didn't want to marry me, you told me that independent Lorelai Gilmore could make it on her own without anyone's help, and now you're telling me that all that was a lie? How was I supposed to know? If you wanted me to stay, you should've told me!"  
  
"That wasn't all a lie, Christopher!" Lorelai exclaimed. "It meant that I could've made it on my own, but it didn't mean that I wanted to! You actually think that I wanted to deprive our child of a father? You should've cared about her enough to want to be apart of her life from the beginning, but you ran away from us!"  
  
Neither of them noticed that Luke had been standing at the entryway to the kitchen, so when he cleared his throat, they both looked over in surprise. He folded his arms across his chest. "You know, she makes a good point."  
  
"Luke," Lorelai started.  
  
Christopher rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in frustration. "Great, let's get the whole town in here to attack me. You know, I really don't need to hear all this right now."  
  
"You don't want to hear it because you know it's the truth," Luke replied sternly. He pointed toward the living room. "You abandoned that girl in there - the first choice you had, you ran off as far away from your responsibilities as you could."  
  
Christopher scoffed. "Okay, you weren't even around back then, so maybe you should stay out of this conversation, huh?"  
  
"Christopher, don't," Lorelai started.  
  
Luke scoffed and took a few steps toward Christopher. "In case you haven't realized it, I'm the one who *was* around! When you were out in California doing God knows what with your life, I was the one who was here being a role model for your daughter," Luke said loudly. "I was the one doing whatever I could to help these girls out while you called twice a month and considered that being involved in their lives! Well, sorry to break it to you, but you were a complete deadbeat and I have zero respect for people like you!"  
  
"Well, it's a good thing that I don't care about whether you respect me or not!" Christopher retorted.  
  
"Well, you should care about whether your daughter respects you," Luke replied. "And considering the fact that you chose not to be part of her childhood, I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't!"  
  
"Okay, stop!" a voice said from behind them.  
  
All three of them looked toward the entryway and saw Rory standing there uncomfortably.  
  
"Stop yelling about me like I don't have ears," Rory said.  
  
"Rory, honey, we didn't mean to - " Lorelai started.  
  
Rory held up her hand. "Wait, I just really need to talk to Dad." She walked over to Christopher and grabbed his hand, then led him out the back door.  
  
As it closed behind them, Lorelai walked over to Luke and found comfort in his embrace. He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head several times before he rested his cheek against the softness of her hair.  
  
They stood that way for several minutes, just holding each other silently, until Lorelai finally pulled back and stared into his eyes. She smiled up at him, and Luke gently pressed his lips against hers.  
  
Lorelai slowly pulled back from the kiss and said, "Come here, I need to talk to you." She took Luke's hand and led him into the living room, and they sat down on the couch facing each other.  
  
Lorelai bit her lip momentarily before she said, "Chris was asking me how I know that this engagement won't turn out like the one with Max, and it just made me wonder. . . do you ever think about that? How I broke it off at the last minute?"  
  
Luke didn't say anything; instead, he exhaled slowly and glanced toward the mantle.  
  
Judging his reaction, Lorelai swallowed hard and nodded. "Guess that's a yes. . . and I guess I can't really blame you for thinking I might do it again."  
  
Luke turned back toward her with a surprised expression. "Wait, you asked if I ever thought about it, not if I thought that you'd do it again. I've never thought that."  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "You haven't?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "Nope." He paused and muttered, "Well, not until now. Thanks for putting the thought in my head."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Sorry about that. But seriously - you know that this situation is one hundred percent different than that one, right?"  
  
Luke nodded. "I know."  
  
"I mean, I'm in love with you - I was never in love with Max," Lorelai said.  
  
"I know."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay, good."  
  
A few minutes later, the front door opened, and Lorelai and Luke both turned around to see who it was. Rory shut the door, then walked into the living room sniffling softly with reddened eyes and tearstained cheeks.  
  
Luke and Lorelai both stood up from the couch and walked over to Rory, and Lorelai hugged her tightly. "Honey, what happened?"  
  
"We talked," she replied as she rested her head on Lorelai's shoulder. "I told him how you and I talked about everything and how we were both upset with him for not wanting to stay to help raise me. He kept apologizing and saying that he was stupid for leaving and that he feels horrible for missing my childhood and . . ." Her voice trailed off and she sniffled a few times. "And that if he could do it over again, he would do things differently. And I told him that I still want things to stay as they have been with the calls and the visits, but that I needed some time to think about things, and that. . . he should probably leave."  
  
"So he left?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Rory pulled back and nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Mom, he looked so incredibly sad. I feel so horrible."  
  
Lorelai used her thumbs to wipe Rory's tears away. "It was just a shock, that's all. He wasn't expecting to come visit and have us start yelling at him for something he did seventeen years ago."  
  
Rory nodded. "I know." She glanced at Luke, then stepped over to hug him. He hugged her back loosely, and as they pulled apart, Rory said, "I'm gonna go lie down for a little while. Are we still getting pizza?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "If that's what you want."  
  
Rory nodded, then slowly started walking toward her bedroom. Luke and Lorelai watched her until she disappeared through the door, then they turned to each other. Luke held out his hand toward Lorelai and she took hold of it. He pulled her closer and she rested her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.  
  
* * *  
  
Four days later, on Thursday afternoon, Lorelai walked into the diner. As Luke walked toward her, he glanced questioningly at her jeans and T-shirt. "Did you wear that to work?"  
  
"Nope," she replied. "I got out early today so I went home and changed. Um, I thought you might wanna come for a walk with me."  
  
"To where?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Nowhere in particular. It's really nice out, though, so I thought you might wanna get out of here for a few minutes." She glanced around the diner and added, "It's not too busy right now."  
  
"Yeah, it's pretty slow," he agreed. He gestured toward the kitchen. "Let me go tell Caesar."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I'll be out front." She walked out the door and waited for him on the sidewalk. He walked out a few seconds later and they began walking down the street. Lorelai glanced over at him and cleared her throat nervously. "Uh, listen, I wanted to talk to you about something."  
  
Luke nodded. "I knew there was probably some ulterior motive behind your 'it's a nice day for a walk' bit back there."  
  
Lorelai gestured toward the clear blue sky. "Well, it is a nice day. . .look at it."  
  
Luke looked up and nodded, then turned back to her. "So, what do you want?"  
  
Lorelai began wringing her hands nervously. "Uh, I don't know how you're gonna feel about this, but I was thinking that. . .when we get married, I might pull a Courtney Cox Arquette."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "Meaning?"  
  
Lorelai stopped walking and turned to face him. "Meaning that. . . I wanna take your last name. . . but I also wanna keep mine." She bit her bottom lip and waited for his reaction. "Are you mad?"  
  
Luke let out a laugh. "No, I'm not mad. I expected from the beginning that you'd want it like that."  
  
Surprised, Lorelai asked, "You did?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"And you don't care?"  
  
"I'm fine with it," Luke replied. "Change your name, don't change your name, make up a completely new last name. . .doesn't matter to me."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Lorelai SexKitten it is, then."  
  
Luke laughed. "Nice."  
  
"Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek, and they continued walking down the sidewalk.  
  
They decided to cut through the park, and as they walked past the playground equipment, Lorelai pointed to a nearby tree. "Let's sit down for a few minutes."  
  
Luke made a face. "On the ground?"  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yes, it won't kill you." She led him over to the tree. "Sit down," she ordered, pointing to the ground.  
  
With a loud sigh, Luke sat down on the grass. Lorelai sat down in between his legs and leaned against him, and he wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her stomach.  
  
They conversed casually for a minute but then fell into a lull of silence. Both of them eyed the scenes around them, watching the kids running around, watching parents pushing strollers, watching people walking their dogs.  
  
Luke's eyes fell upon a young boy of about six years old clutching a yellow plastic baseball bat in his hands. He glanced over to the left and saw a man holding a white plastic wiffle ball. The man tossed the ball toward the boy, and the boy swung hard and missed it. He picked up the ball and threw it back to the man, then prepared to swing again. Luke watched them play for a few minutes until the two carried their bat and ball over to an ice cream stand.  
  
Luke cleared his throat. "Lorelai?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
He removed a hand from her stomach and pointed toward the ice cream stand. "I think I want that. . .someday."  
  
"What?" She followed the direction of Luke's finger to the ice cream stand. She gasped. "Oh my God, Luke Danes wants some ice cream! Am I dreaming?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes, then shook his head. "No. . .uh, not the ice cream." He paused a moment before he said, "The kid."  
  
Lorelai froze for a moment before her eyes slowly widened and her mouth dropped open. She sat up straight and slowly turned her head around to look at him. "What?"  
  
Luke glanced over at the young boy and his father. "I just. . .I've been thinking about it for awhile now, and I think it's something that I want." He brought his gaze back to her.  
  
"But what about that time you were standing in my kitchen whining about how kids are always sticky and eating jelly or something. . ." Lorelai's voice trailed off and she shook her head in disbelief. "You said that you hate kids."  
  
Luke nodded. "I know that's what I said, but that. . . that's just what guys say when they feel like they'll never be in the position to have one of their own. Just like when I said all that stuff about marriage. . . I made it seem like I didn't like it because I never thought I would have it."  
  
Lorelai stared at him for a moment before she turned away from him. She leaned back against him, biting her thumbnail nervously as she stared straight ahead.  
  
After a minute had passed, Luke ran his hands over her shoulders. "Lorelai?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Are you gonna say something?"  
  
"Yes, I'm gonna say something," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Uh. . .when?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai turned her head to look at him. "Uh, I don't know . . .maybe when the complete and utter shock wears off about the fact that you just, out of the blue, suggested that we grow a human being inside of my stomach." She sighed softly and turned back around. "But until then, I really need you to just. . . hold me. I really have to let this sink in, and when it does, that's when we will launch into a probably very long discussion about the topic, okay?"  
  
"Okay." Luke wrapped his arms around her stomach and kissed the top of her head. "Take your time."  
  
"Thank you." She settled herself against him and closed her eyes as she tried to gather her thoughts.  
  
* * * 


	11. Parts 53 to 56

"It's Right There - parts 53 - 56"  
  
* * *  
  
PART 53  
  
* * *  
  
Her eyes were closed, her head was resting against his chest, she felt his strong arms wrapped around her. Her request was a simple one - she just wanted him to hold her as she tried to make sense of the thoughts running through her head.  
  
Luke was becoming anxious as he waited for her to say something. He was tempted to prompt her to speak again, but he knew that she would when she was ready. He sighed softly and glanced around at his surroundings as she continued to lean against him in silence.  
  
Several minutes passed before Lorelai finally sat up straight. Luke removed his hands from her stomach nd watched as she slowly turned herself around to face him. He adjusted his position, and they both sat with their legs crossed in front of them.  
  
Lorelai exhaled slowly. "Okay, so. . .I've spent the last few minutes gathering my thoughts."  
  
"And. . ." Luke prompted.  
  
Lorelai pushed her hair behind her ears, then clasped her hands together and rested them on her lap. She took a deep breath and said, "Well, it wasn't easy, but I finally decided that. . . I really want Chinese food for dinner."  
  
"Lorelai," Luke warned, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai smiled and raised her hands innocently in front of her. "Okay, okay, sorry." She shrugged. "I don't know, Luke. There're so many things we need to talk about. I mean, I haven't given it much thought before now and it's just. . .it's really sudden."  
  
"I know," Luke replied. "But that's why I brought it up, so we can talk about it. I wasn't expecting to bring it up and have you say, 'Yes, Luke, let's go out and buy a minivan and fill it up with as many babies as we can.' I brought it up because I've been thinking about it and I think it's an issue that we should discuss."  
  
Lorelai made a face and shook her head. "Ugh, okay, first off, I'm telling you this right now - I will never, ever drive a minivan as long as I live, so get that thought out of your head."  
  
"It was a hypothetical scenario," Luke pointed out.  
  
"I know, but still," Lorelai said, wrinkling her nose. "Even hypothetically, those things are the extreme opposite of cool."  
  
"Okay, no more hypothetical scenarios involving minivans," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "Happy?"  
  
"Yes, thank you," Lorelai said. She glanced down at the ground and pulled out a fistful of grass. She started letting the pieces drop in front of her. "So. . .how long have you been thinking about it?" She brushed the rest of the grass off of her hands and brought her gaze up to look at him.  
  
Luke was quiet for a moment. He took off his cap and ran his fingers through his hair, then replaced the hat on his head. "Well, remember a few weeks ago. . .you left the diner early one night because you weren't feeling well?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"Well, I came home that night and you were already asleep," Luke continued. "And I sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at you for a long time. I just watched you sleep; I watched you shift your body to get more comfortable every few minutes; I watched your chest move up and down with your breathing. . ."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Okay, Luke, the story's getting creepy now."  
  
"Just listen," he said. "I was thinking about how you weren't feeling well. . ." His voice trailed off and he cleared his throat. "And the thing that kept running through my mind was that you might've been. . . pregnant."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "You really thought that's what it was?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Even before the rumor went around town about it?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah," Luke said. "And the thing is. . .I was a little nervous about it at first, but then I realized that it didn't scare me as much as I thought it would. . .and the more that I thought about it, the more that. . ." He paused and glanced down at the grass. "I was hoping that you were."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "You were hoping that I was pregnant?"  
  
Luke looked up at her and nodded. "And ever since then, I've just been thinking about it a lot, and wondering how I would be. . .as a father."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You would be a great father."  
  
Luke smiled shyly and shrugged. "Yeah, well. . .we'll see. Uh, I mean, if you. . .ya know, wanna do this." He paused a moment before he asked, "Do you?"  
  
Lorelai sighed softly. "Luke. . .I just. . . "  
  
Luke nodded knowingly. "You don't want to, I get it."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "I didn't say that."  
  
"Well, you're hesitating," Luke pointed out.  
  
"You're right, but that just means that I need to think about it some more," Lorelai said. "It's not like you suggested we go buy a new DVD player or something - you want us to have a baby. That's a life changing thing, Luke."  
  
Luke scoffed. "You really think I don't get that?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head and placed her hand on his arm. "No, I know you get it, but you have to understand that there are more things that need to be taken into consideration on my side than yours," Lorelai said. "I mean, I'm the one who'll have - "  
  
"To deal with all the physical aspects of it, I know," Luke interrupted.  
  
Lorelai bit her bottom lip and nodded quickly for several seconds. "So I just need some more time to think things out before we really get into discussing all this, okay?"  
  
Luke nodded understandingly. "Yeah, absolutely. We'll talk about it later."  
  
Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him, then pulled back and smiled at him. "Thank you."  
  
Luke nodded. They were quiet for a few seconds before he asked, "Can we get up off the stupid ground now?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, you big baby. I know it's been just tragic for you to have to sit on it for so long." They stood up and brushed themselves off before heading out of the park.  
  
"Remember I won't be home on Saturday night," Lorelai reminded him.  
  
"Yes, I remember," Luke replied, rolling his eyes. "And what exactly will be going on at this stupid bachelorette party?"  
  
"Oh, you know, just the regular old stupid stuff," Lorelai replied nonchalantly. "Stupid alcohol, stupid dancing, stupid male strippers dressed like firemen begging me to rub their hoses."  
  
"To which you will reply, 'No, thanks, I have a perfectly good hose at home'," Luke said. "Right?"  
  
Lorelai giggled and patted him on the arm. "Sure, hon, sure."  
  
"Lorelai," Luke warned.  
  
"What? It's a bachelorette party, Luke," she reminded him. "You're supposed to have fun."  
  
"Yeah, well, you can still have fun without sticking your hand down some other guy's pants," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "You can? Blasphemy!" She smiled and pinched his cheek. "You're so adorable when you're jealous."  
  
"I'm not jealous," Luke said. "I just don't want the parts of your body that will be touching parts of my body touching parts of other people's bodies that I don't wanna touch."  
  
Lorelai let out a laugh. "Uh, you wanna say that again, maybe in English this time?"  
  
They had reached the diner and stopped in front of the door. He turned to her and said, "Yeah, here it is again - wear rubber gloves if you're planning on touching anyone."  
  
"I've made a mental note," Lorelai said, tapping her head. "Happy?"  
  
"Yes, thank you. Rory's not going, is she?"  
  
"Not this time, no," Lorelai replied. "I told her she can come to mine, but this one's gonna be a little more. . .uh, non-family-friendly."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Right, unless you're from a family that's been on Jerry Springer."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Exactly."  
  
"You coming in?" he asked, gesturing to the diner.  
  
"Nah, I'm gonna head home," she replied. "Got some heavy-duty thinking to do."  
  
Luke nodded. "Right. . . okay. See you tonight."  
  
"Bye." She kissed him and watched him walk into the diner before she shoved her hands in her pockets and walked home slowly.  
  
* * *  
  
When Lorelai reached the house, she walked through the front door and called, "Rory, are you home?"  
  
"Yeah," her voice replied.  
  
Lorelai followed the voice to the kitchen and found Rory sitting at the table reading. "How was the college fair?" Lorelai asked as she leaned down and kissed Rory on the cheek.  
  
"Uh, good. . .it was good," Rory replied quickly. "Um, I got this." She closed the brochure she had been reading and showed the cover to Lorelai.  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "A Yale brochure? Did ya forget how to spell Harvard or something?"  
  
Rory swallowed hard and set the brochure on the table. "Mom, um. . .sit down."  
  
Lorelai stared at Rory with confusion as she slowly slid into the chair next to her. "What's up?"  
  
"Well. . ." Rory tapped her fingernails on the table for a few seconds as she shifted nervously in her seat. "I know it's something that we've always worked toward and always assumed would happen. . .but as the reality of it happening gets closer. . ." She stared down at the table and finished, "I'm just not sure if this Harvard dream is something that . . .I really want anymore." She slowly brought her gaze up to see Lorelai's reaction.  
  
Lorelai was staring at Rory as if she had two heads. "What?"  
  
"I know, I know, it's shocking," Rory said. "But I've been thinking about it for awhile now and - "  
  
Lorelai interrupted her by groaning loudly. "Okay, what, did everyone just get together and say, 'Hey, have you been thinking about anything important for awhile? Good, me too! Let's wait until July 25, 2002 to tell Lorelai so she can get a whole bunch of shocking news all in one day in the hopes that it'll kill her!'" She sighed and gestured to the cordless phone on the table. "Now, as the final nail in the coffin, I'm expecting my parents to call and tell me that they're moving to Stars Hollow!"  
  
Rory's eyes widened. "My god, chill out! Who else gave you shocking news?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, just Luke. . .Luke Danes, that man who owns the diner, that man who lives with us, that man I'm in love with, that man I'm going to marry, that man who - "  
  
"Yes, I'm familiar with his work," Rory interrupted, gesturing for her to continue. "Move it along."  
  
Lorelai sighed loudly. "Yes, well, that man decided to tell me today, out of the blue, that he wants me to carry his baby." She took a deep breath. "So, now, back to you. . . "  
  
Rory's mouth dropped open. "What?"  
  
". . .what's this about you and Harvard?" Lorelai continued, picking up the Yale brochure.  
  
Rory grabbed it back from her, exclaiming, "Mom! You can't just say something like that and move on!"  
  
Lorelai looked at her and sighed. "He wants to have a baby," she said softly.  
  
"Oh my God! What did you say?" Rory asked.  
  
"That I need to think about it," she replied. Rory started to respond, but Lorelai held up her hand. "Listen, I need you to not say anything about it at all. I know I always like to get your input on things, but this is something I need to sit down and think about myself, and I don't want anyone's opinions influencing me one way or another. This has to be figured out by me. . .and just me, okay?"  
  
Rory nodded, then clamped her lips together and pretended to zip them closed.  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath. "Thank you. I'll let you know when we decide what we're doing, but until then, not a peep to anyone." She picked up the brochure and said, "So, now, talk to me please."  
  
"Hmm, mm mm mm," Rory mumbled through her closed lips.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Very funny."  
  
Rory smiled. "Thought so."  
  
"Talk to me," Lorelai repeated.  
  
Rory glanced down at the brochure and sighed. "I know that Harvard has been the college we always talked about me going to, but we made these big plans about it without ever really considering if it was . . .right for me, and now I'm not sure that it is. The last time I was there with Dad, it didn't really give me that 'Oh, you're gonna have an amazing time here' feeling, and then I started wondering if maybe I might be happier at another place. I mean, I can study journalism and political science anywhere . . .I don't know why I thought that Harvard would be the only place I should look into. There are hundreds of places I can go." She shrugged and added, "Plus. . ." Her voice trailed off and she stared at Lorelai.  
  
Lorelai put her hand on Rory's arm. "What?"  
  
"It's so far away from you," Rory said. "I mean, we've never been apart for - "  
  
"Rory, honey," Lorelai interrupted. "You can't let the fact that you're scared to be away from me be the reason that you give up on Harvard. I mean, if you want, we can set up a Big Brother kind of thing . . .you know, set up cameras all around the house so you can monitor my every movement; that way it won't feel like you're away from me. But . . .I don't want that to be a reason that you don't go to the college you really wanna go to."  
  
Rory shook her head. "I promise that's not the main reason. . .but when you add the homesick factor to the idea that maybe that school's not right for me in the first place, it just seems like it might be time for me to. . .explore other options. Trust me, I've thought about it a lot, Mom. I've done research, I've looked at other schools. . ." She gestured to the brochure.  
  
"Yale," Lorelai stated.  
  
"Yale," Rory said. "I mean, it's still an Ivy League school, the programs look good, it seems like -"  
  
"Rory, you don't have to convince me," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "You know what's best for you. . .and if you say you've thought about it a lot, then I believe you. We'll go to Yale and check it out."  
  
Rory wrinkled her nose. "You're not mad?"  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "What?" She leaned over and hugged her tightly. "No, not at all, I promise you."  
  
Rory nodded as they broke apart. "Okay, good."  
  
Lorelai glanced down at the brochure for a few seconds. "You know, your grandfather is a Yale man."  
  
"I know."  
  
"So I bet if you asked him to set up a tour for us, he'd really like that," Lorelai said. "He'd probably even insist on coming with us. Could be a nice little sort of bonding thing for you guys."  
  
Rory smiled. "Yeah, maybe. I'll think about it."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Good." She stood up from the table. "All right, I'm feeling like Chinese food - you?"  
  
"Sounds good," Rory replied.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Luke walked into the house slightly after nine and found Rory on the couch watching television. "Hey," he said. He dropped his keys on the hall table and walked into the living room.  
  
Rory glanced up at him and smiled. "Hey Luke. How was work?"  
  
"Ah, you know," he replied with a shrug.  
  
"Uneventful?"  
  
"Pretty much," he replied.  
  
"So you haven't had any other incidents where a customer climbed on the counter and threatened to strip unless you gave 'em coffee immediately?" Rory asked.  
  
"Not since your mom tried it a few days ago," Luke replied, rolling his eyes. "Speaking of which, where is the Vegas showgirl?"  
  
Rory pointed toward the stairway. "She went up right after dinner and hasn't been down since."  
  
"Oh." He walked over and sat down next to her on the couch. "Did you check to make sure she's still alive?"  
  
"Well, I've heard her walking around up there," Rory replied. "So unless her lifeless body can move around on its own, I think we're safe."  
  
"Okay, good," Luke replied. "How was your day?"  
  
"Good, it was good," Rory replied. "Went to the college fair."  
  
"Oh, right, that was today," Luke said, nodding. "So . . .did you get a Yale catalog?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Yup, and I talked to Mom about it."  
  
"And?" Luke prompted.  
  
"And. . .you were right," Rory reluctantly admitted with a smile.  
  
Luke smiled. "See, I told you she wouldn't be mad. She just wants you to be happy."  
  
"I know, I know," Rory replied. "I was stupid for thinking that she'd freak out about it. I should've known that she'd understand. I know I probably talked your ear off about the other day, so thanks for listening. . .and for the advice."  
  
"You're welcome," he replied. "That's what I'm here for."  
  
"I thought it was just to help us feel safe after we watch scary movies," Rory said.  
  
Luke smiled. "That too." He stood up from the couch. "All right, I'm gonna go see what she's up to."  
  
"Okay. Let me know if I have to start planning the funeral service."  
  
"Will do," Luke replied as he walked toward the stairs.  
  
"Oh, uh, Luke. . .wait a sec," Rory said.  
  
He turned around on the bottom step. "Yeah?"  
  
"Uh, she doesn't know that I talked to you about it first," Rory said. "So. . ."  
  
"I won't say anything," Luke said.  
  
Rory smiled. "Thanks."  
  
Luke turned and walked up the stairs to their bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, and Luke looked inside. Lorelai was sitting on the bed with a box next to her as she flipped through a photo album. He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. "Hey," he said.  
  
Lorelai looked up and smiled at him. "Hey you."  
  
Luke walked over and kissed her, then sat down on the edge of the bed. "What are you doing?"  
  
She moved over to give him more room, and he made himself more comfortable. "I'm looking at pictures of Rory when she was little." She turned the photo album toward him so he could see.  
  
He looked down at the page of photos and smiled. "Cute."  
  
"Yeah." Lorelai looked down at them for a moment before she shut the book and put it in the box next to her. "So. . .I've been thinking about this whole baby thing."  
  
"And. . ."  
  
"Well, the first thing that popped into my mind was . . .do I want to raise another kid? I mean, seventeen years later, is it something that I want to have to do all over again?" She took a deep breath. "And all these things started running through my mind - the morning sickness, the discomfort, the pain of childbirth, the changing diapers, the feedings, the throwing up, the crying, the sleepless nights. . .everything I went through back then came rushing back to me."  
  
Luke nodded along as she spoke. "Uh huh."  
  
Lorelai paused a moment and ran her fingers through her hair. "But then I looked at it from another perspective and I thought - it's not gonna be like last time. It's not gonna be me as a sixteen year old kid having to deal with it all by myself. I'm not the only one who'll have all the responsibility of doing everything."  
  
Luke shook his head. "You're not gonna have to go through it alone this time."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I know." She took one of his hands and stroked the top of it with her fingers. "And then I started thinking about how we're getting married, and what it would be like to be a wife and to have a husband and to have a child of our own that we can raise together - this little person that represents who we are. . . someone we can send off to kindergarten in a little flannel shirt with a thermos of coffee in their lunch box."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Over my dead body."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "And the picture was just. . .well, it was a nice image." She turned her body slightly to face him better. "I know you said you wanted to do this, but are you actually. . .ready to do this? I mean, you've never spent time around a baby before, Luke. Are you prepared to deal with all the things I mentioned - the feedings, the sleepless night, changing the poopy diapers. . ."  
  
"As long as I don't have to say words like 'poopy', then, yes, I'm prepared for it," Luke said. "Lorelai, just because I've never been around them doesn't mean that I don't know what they entail. I have a pretty good idea of what it takes. Plus, it's been seventeen years since you've had to deal with a baby, so you'll be re-learning things, too, so. . .we'll have the chance figure some things out together. . ."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I know, but Luke - I don't think you're realizing how different our lives would be. I mean, our entire day would revolve around us keeping this baby alive, us protecting this little human that we brought into this very screwed up world . . . a world that has never given Molly Ringwald an Oscar for any of her incredible roles." Lorelai scoffed. "I mean, hello - The Tempest, Sixteen Candles, the Breakfast Club, have the Academy Awards people not heard of any of these classics? Not to mention For Keeps - which is one that I connect with on a personal level. . .man, she really nailed that whole pregnant teenager thing." She put her hand on her chest and stared up toward the ceiling, lost in thought.  
  
Luke sighed loudly. "Continue please."  
  
Lorelai brought her gaze back down and shook her head slightly. "Sorry, where was I?"  
  
"Uh, our life will change. . ."  
  
"Right . . . it's not going to be like it is now. It won't be this 'we get up in the morning and go to work, then come home and hang out, then come upstairs and fool around' routine that we have now. Things will be completely different," Lorelai said pointedly. "You're telling me that you are absolutely, positively sure that you're ready and willing to deal with it?"  
  
Luke nodded firmly. "Yes, I am."  
  
"Because I am, and there's no going back, Luke," Lorelai said sternly. "You can't say right now that you wanna have a baby and then decide after you knock me up that you've changed your mind, so if you think you're gonna change - "  
  
"I'm not gonna change my mind," Luke interrupted. "I wanna do this."  
  
Lorelai stared at him for a moment. "And you're absolutely, positively sure that you're still gonna love me when I'm gross and huge and you can barely get your arms around me and you need a crane to get me out of this house?"  
  
Luke grimaced and clenched his teeth together. "Ooh, let me think about that one."  
  
Lorelai laughed and smacked his arm. "Hey!"  
  
Luke smirked. "I'm kidding." He leaned forward and kissed her, then smiled through the kiss and pulled back slightly. "So. . .what's the final verdict?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Well, Judge Wapner. . ." she started. She rested her hands on his cheeks and stared into his eyes. "Yes, I want to have a baby with you."  
  
Luke's eyes widened and a small smile appeared on his lips. He leaned forward and kissed her deeply, then pulled her into a hug.  
  
Lorelai pulled back and said, "Okay, so. . .I wanna do this and you wanna do this. . .but can we do this?"  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes. "Uh, I'm pretty familiar with the baby making process, so yeah. . .I think we can. I mean, unless there's a specific position I'm not aware of. . ."  
  
"No, I mean, can we do this financially," Lorelai reiterated. "Kids are damn expensive. . . .diapers, clothes, furniture, accessories, toys, those little plastic covers you stick in the light sockets so they don't stick their fingers in them. . .it all adds up."  
  
"Yes, we can do this," Luke said firmly. "Don't worry about the money. People much worse off than us have done it fine."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Very true." She smiled. "Okay, then. . .we'll do this."  
  
Luke smiled. "We'll have a baby."  
  
"After we're married," Lorelai added.  
  
"Right, after we're married," he agreed. He leaned back against the headboard and she snuggled up against him. They were both quiet for a few seconds before he said, "You know, one time I asked my dad what it was like. . .you know, to be a father."  
  
"And what did he say?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"He said that it wasn't like anything else in the world, and that he couldn't describe how it feels," Luke said. "But that one day I'd find out."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "He was right."  
  
"He always was," Luke replied as he kissed the top of her head.  
  
"Do you think he'd like me?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I think he'd love you," Luke replied.  
  
"Because I'm incredibly beautiful?" Lorelai suggested.  
  
"No," Luke replied. "Because you're . . .you. You're smart and funny and. . .ya know, likable."  
  
Lorelai lifted her head off of his chest to look at him. "Did you just call me lickable?"  
  
"No, I said you're likable," he repeated, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "So you don't think I'm lickable?"  
  
"Well, do you hear my tongue complaining?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. She sat up and climbed over him to get off the bed. "I'm gonna go talk to Rory." Her eyes widened, and she turned back around. "Ooh, speaking of which, guess what?"  
  
Luke sat up. "What?"  
  
"You're not gonna believe this, but she doesn't think she wants to go to Harvard anymore," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke feigned surprise. "Wow, really?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yup. . .she wants to look into Yale."  
  
"Wow, never saw that one coming," he said, shaking his head slightly.  
  
"I know - shocker, huh?" Lorelai said. She walked to the door and pulled it open, then lingered near the doorway. "So I'm gonna go talk to her about this baby stuff. . ."  
  
Luke nodded. "Okay. I'm gonna take a shower."  
  
Lorelai nodded, then walked downstairs; Rory was still sitting on the couch watching television. She glanced over at Lorelai coming down the steps and smiled. "Mom, you're alive!"  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Uh, yes, I am, thanks for letting me know." She walked over and sat down next to Rory. She gestured to the television and asked, "Can you mute this or something? I wanna talk to you."  
  
Rory turned the television off, then set the remote control on the coffee table. She turned her body toward Lorelai. "What's up?"  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath. "Okay, um, well. . .we just had a talk about this whole. . .baby situation."  
  
Rory's eyes widened. "Ooh! And?"  
  
"And I have some good news - well, it's good depending on whether you like babies or not," Lorelai said.  
  
"Is it good news if I like babies or if I don't like babies?" Rory asked.  
  
"Well, do you like babies?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Rory nodded. "Yeah, I think I like babies."  
  
"Well, then. . ." Lorelai smiled. "It's good news."  
  
Rory smiled. "You're serious? You're gonna have a baby?"  
  
"Well, not right this second, but . . .eventually," Lorelai said. "After we're married."  
  
"Wow, so you're going down the traditional 'get married and then have kids' route this time?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I thought it would be nice to see what it's like."  
  
Rory shook her head in disbelief, then looked at Lorelai's stomach. "Wow, I so can't picture you being pregnant."  
  
Lorelai grabbed her stomach and groaned. "Ugh, I know! I'm gonna be a balloon again. Plus, I'll have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe," Lorelai said. "Which would be kind of fun if maternity clothes weren't so damn ugly."  
  
"It's different today, though," Rory said. "Designers are designing cuter maternity clothes than they used to."  
  
"How do you know?" Lorelai asked curiously. She paused, then gasped. "Oh my god, you're planning on getting pregnant and you've already been checking out the clothes!"  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "No, I think not. . .but I have seen pregnant women wearing non-ugly clothes before."  
  
Lorelai reached out and tapped Rory on the knee. "So, what do you think?"  
  
Rory thought for a moment. "Hm, I think that I'm gonna make Lane get a tattoo of me on her arm, and then I'm gonna drag her to an amusement park and force her to go on all the scary rides even if she begs me not to make her," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Right, because nothing says 'You're my best friend and I love you,' like that."  
  
"Anna, Anna, fabulous Anna, Anna Nicole," Rory sang, bobbing her head from side to side.  
  
"She's so outrageous!" Lorelai sang, throwing her hands up in the air.  
  
Rory laughed, then shook her head. "You know, it's so sad that we watch that."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Hi, need I remind you why we watch it? What are we?"  
  
"Unapologetic mockers," Rory replied proudly.  
  
"Exactly, my friend! We watch it for the mockage," Lorelai said. "Watching shows like this is all part of the job."  
  
"Right, so we shouldn't feel guilty about it," Rory added.  
  
"Right." Lorelai paused a moment, then said, "Now, back to the original question. . .what do you think?"  
  
Rory smiled and shrugged. "I think it's great."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Yeah? You're not just saying that?"  
  
"No, I'm not. I swear, Mom," Rory replied seriously. "I think that this is something that you guys. . .should do."  
  
"Things are gonna be really different," Lorelai pointed out. "Just a warning."  
  
"I know," Rory replied. "And while most change does suck. . .I think this will be one of few changes that. . .doesn't. It'll be good."  
  
Lorelai smiled and leaned forward to hug Rory. "I love you."  
  
"Love you, too," Rory replied, kissing her on the cheek.  
  
As they pulled back, Lorelai grimaced and said, "So . . . I don't know when it's gonna happen but there's a slight possibility that it may postpone our Fez trip."  
  
Rory waved her off. "That's okay. It's no big deal."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, it is a big deal. And I'm promising you that if something happens and we can't do it next summer, it will only be a *postponement* not a cancellation. We will go on that trip one day, honey." She raised her hand. "Scout's honor."  
  
"You're not a scout," Rory reminded her.  
  
"Well, then, coffee-obsessed-freak's honor," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory smiled. "Okay."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Good. Plus, hey, the longer we push it off, the more money we'll be able to save up for it."  
  
"Good point," Rory replied. She leaned her head against the couch cushion and sighed. "You know what?"  
  
Lorelai leaned her head next to Rory's. "What?"  
  
Rory smiled. "You're gonna make a great Mom. I have this gut feeling," she said, patting her stomach.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks. . . but I think that feeling's from the Chinese food."  
  
Rory shrugged. "Could be." She paused a moment before she asked, "Ice cream?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah." They both stood up from the couch.  
  
Rory put her arm around Lorelai's waist as they started walking toward the kitchen. "Mom?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"You're not gonna buy a minivan, are you?" Rory asked, making a face.  
  
Lorelai let out a laugh and she shook her head adamantly. "No, absolutely not, you won't catch me anywhere near one of those things. I don't even park near them in parking lots with the fear that their essence will somehow jump onto my car and then seep into my body and try to convince me to buy one."  
  
Rory let out a sigh of relief as they entered the kitchen. "Okay, good. I didn't want to have to disown myself from you."  
  
"Well, you'll probably wanna do that someday, but I can assure you it won't have anything to do with a minivan," Lorelai said. "We're SUV people all the way."  
  
"Absolutely," Rory replied. She pulled open the freezer and took out the ice cream as Lorelai got the box of cones out of the cabinet.  
  
As she scooped some ice cream into one of the cones, Lorelai said, "Luke's gonna be a great dad, don't you think?"  
  
Rory smiled and nodded. "Definitely."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah." She finished the cones, then turned to Rory and frowned. "Though he told me he doesn't want our kids taking coffee to school in their lunch boxes."  
  
Rory gasped. "You're kidding!"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "He really said that, can you believe it?"  
  
Rory frowned sympathetically. "What are you gonna do about it?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. Let's go start working on a plan." They took their ice cream cones into the living room and sat down on the couch to talk.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 54  
  
* * *  
  
On Saturday afternoon, Lorelai and Rory were sitting at the kitchen table when Luke walked in through the back door. "Hey," he greeted them.  
  
"Hey Luke," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai turned around and smiled. "Hey." She noticed the Doose's Market bag he was carrying and frowned. "You went shopping! Why didn't you tell me you were going shopping?"  
  
Luke set the bag on the table and shrugged. "I wasn't aware I needed your permission."  
  
"You don't, but I was gonna run to the market in a little while to pick up some very important necessities but had I known you were going, you could've saved me a trip," Lorelai whined.  
  
"Very important necessities?" Luke repeated, rolling his eyes. "So, for you, that's what - whipped cream and hot fudge sauce?"  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "No, this time when I say necessities, I actually mean *real* necessities, like laundry detergent, mouthwash. . .oh, and did I mention that we're down to our last five squares of toilet paper?"  
  
"No, you didn't mention it." Luke reached into the bag and pulled out a package of toilet paper. "But you seem to forget that I have eyes also. I saw that we were low."  
  
Lorelai gasped and grabbed it from him. "Oh, thank God!" She hugged it tightly to her chest. "I was planning on taking a magazine into the bathroom with me next time, and I wasn't gonna be using it for reading material, if you know what I mean."  
  
"Uh, yeah, I think we do," Luke said, giving a sideways glance towards Rory.  
  
"That would've led to some very uncomfortable paper cuts," Rory said knowingly.  
  
"Again," Lorelai added with a nod. Luke narrowed his eyes at her, and she smiled. "You don't wanna know." She set the package on the table and gestured to the bag. "What else did you buy?"  
  
Luke reached into the bag and pulled out two identical boxes. "I saw these and thought of you guys." He handed each of them a box.  
  
Lorelai looked at the label and laughed. "Oh my God, this is the greatest thing in the entire world!"  
  
"SpongeBob macaroni and cheese!" Rory exclaimed excitedly.  
  
Luke smirked as he unloaded the rest of the bag. "Thought you might enjoy that."  
  
"Yes, we do enjoy it," Lorelai confirmed.  
  
"Definitely," Rory said, nodding enthusiastically. "I'm overjoyed, even."  
  
"Good." Luke crumbled up the bag and threw it away, then walked back over to them. They were staring up at him with hopeful looks, and he rolled his eyes and held out his hand. "Fine, give me it."  
  
Lorelai smiled and handed him her box. "Thank you. You can just make one box."  
  
"You sure?" he asked. "You can eat a whole box of this yourself."  
  
"Well, I don't wanna eat too much or else I'll be puking on the dance floor tonight," Lorelai said. She scoffed and shook her head, adding, "Which is not as fun as it sounds, trust me."  
  
Luke shook his head slightly as he took the box and walked to the stove. He set the box on the counter, then pulled out a pot and walked over to the sink to fill it with water. "Rory, explain to me why you're so normal when your role model is so. . . .not?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "There are scientists working 'round the clock trying to figure it out, Luke."  
  
Lorelai smirked and stood up. "I'm gonna go take a shower while the food's cooking. It'll give me time to think about why the hell I like either one of you."  
  
Luke carried the pot over to the stove and set it on a burner. He walked over to Lorelai and put his hands on her shoulders. "Let us know if you find out."  
  
"Will do." Lorelai smiled and kissed him on the cheek. She started to walk out of the kitchen, then stopped and turned around. "Oh, hey, Sookie told me that she has a couple extra seats for the wedding."  
  
"And?" Luke prompted.  
  
"I thought you might wanna see if maybe Jess wanted to go," Lorelai said. "I know he said he didn't want to when we first sent the invitations out, but. . .maybe he's changed his mind." Lorelai shrugged. "I mean, I know he doesn't know Sookie or Jackson very well, but. . .hey, the seats are already paid for now, and it's free food, right? Plus, he can bring a guest. Weddings are a nice date atmosphere."  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know, I'll ask him."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay." She turned and walked out of the kitchen.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Lorelai was in the bedroom when Luke walked in. Standing in front of the closet in just her underwear and bra, she looked over at him. "I'm not sure what to wear tonight." She put her hands on her hips and turned back toward the closet.  
  
Luke sat down on the bed. "Something oversized and baggy."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and waved him off. She pulled out a sleeveless black dress and held it up in front of her. After some contemplation, she pulled it on and zipped it up, then looked in the mirror. She adjusted it and smoothed it out, then turned back to him. "How does it look?"  
  
Luke made a face and shook his head. "Bad. . .really bad. I say go with a turtleneck and sweat pants. I've heard that's popular strip club wear."  
  
Lorelai folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head. "Luke."  
  
Luke sighed and muttered, "Amazing, as always."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah?"  
  
"You know you do," he replied. "Why do you even bother asking my opinion?"  
  
"Because I like to be reassured," she replied as she turned back to the mirror. She sat down at her vanity and began fixing her hair.  
  
"So where exactly are you going?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai giggled. "To see some show called Hunk-O-Mania."  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "Hunk-O-Mania? You're not serious."  
  
"Dead serious," she replied, looking at him in the mirror. "I told Patty I was looking for a good strip show and she set us up with this place. She even managed to get us a discount on the tickets."  
  
"I so don't wanna know how," Luke muttered, shaking his head. "Who's all going?"  
  
"Um, me, Sookie, Babette, and Patty," Lorelai replied. "I told Sookie to invite some of her chef friends, but she just wanted it to be the four of us." She stood up and stepped into her shoes. "Maybe she's not comfortable enough with them to let 'em see her get wasted."  
  
"Maybe," Luke said. "What time do you think you'll be home?"  
  
"Uh, when the state of Connecticut runs out of alcohol," Lorelai replied as she walked over to him.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Please tell me you have a designated driver."  
  
"Yeah, Candace," Lorelai replied. "Though I'm a bit concerned about that because when Jessica needed a ride home that one time, Candace was a little tipsy, you remember?"  
  
Luke stared at her with wide eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
Lorelai sighed and waved him off. "Never mind. We got a limo for the night. . .complete with a chauffeur to drive us wherever we want. Again, Patty was able to get us a discount. I swear, she knows everybody in this world." She pulled him up off the bed into a hug.  
  
He wrapped his arms around her and a content smile appeared on her face as the warmth of his body surrounded her. She rested her head against his chest and inhaled the scent of his cologne as his hands ran up and down her spine. After a few seconds, she lifted her head to look at him and pressed her lips against his, and he slid his hands up to cradle her face as he kissed her back passionately.  
  
When he finally pulled back from her, Lorelai smiled up at him. "Trying to make sure I don't forget what I have at home while I'm out gallivanting with strippers?"  
  
"Yup." He leaned down and kissed her again as he slid his hands down her body.  
  
Lorelai smiled through the kiss. "Now you're trying to permanently leave your handprints on my butt as a 'this gal's taken' sign to other guys, right?"  
  
"You're two for two," Luke replied, sliding his hands up to her waist.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Put them back." Luke smirked as he slid his hands back down and began kissing her again.  
  
They were interrupted moments later by a horn honking out front, and Lorelai walked over to the window. "Limo's here." She grabbed her purse from the bed, and the two of them walked downstairs.  
  
* * *  
  
Several hours later, Lorelai and Sookie were dancing on the crowded dance floor of the club as Babette and Patty looked on from the table.  
  
As a waiter brought over another round of drinks, Lorelai wandered over, fanning herself. "Man, it's hot in here," she yelled over the loud music. "Why'd you guys sit down?"  
  
"Oh, you girls can dance longer than us," Babette replied loudly. "We need to rest more often."  
  
"Got it!" Lorelai yelled. She took a long sip of her drink. "Okay, I'm going back out there!" She ran back onto the dance floor and found Sookie.  
  
They danced a few more songs before they walked back to the table and collapsed in their chairs, both panting from their exhaustion. "My God, this is so much fun!" Sookie said loudly.  
  
Lorelai nodded in agreement as she took a sip of her drink. She glanced toward the stage that the strippers dance on and said, "The only thing that's missing is Antonio."  
  
"I'm sure he'll be back out soon," Babette assured her. She glanced toward the stage and muttered, "He better. I got my dollar bills all ready for that sexy piece of meat."  
  
Patty smiled and patted Babette on the arm. "Don't worry, he always does three shows on Saturdays. Antonio's a big hit around here."  
  
Sookie glanced down at her watch. "You know, this time next week. . ."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Aww, you'll be a married woman!"  
  
Sookie giggled excitedly. "Yes, I will!"  
  
Lorelai raised her glass. "So what do you say we celebrate that by raising our blood alcohol levels to a limit that David Hasselhoff would be proud of?"  
  
Sookie picked up her glass and clinked it against Lorelai's. "Sounds good to me."  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, back at home, a car door slammed outside and awakened Luke from his sleep. He glanced at the clock, which told him that it was almost two in the morning. He groggily climbed out of bed and walked to the window, and saw the limousine parked out front.  
  
Luke pulled on a pair of sweat pants and walked downstairs. He pulled open the front door and saw Lorelai standing in between Patty and Babette near the limo, her arms draped over them as they helped her walk toward the house.  
  
As Luke walked toward them, Lorelai smiled and gave him a small wave. "Hey Luke." She giggled and turned to Patty. "That's a funny name, huh? Luke. . .Luuuuuke. . .funny. . ."  
  
"Yes, it is, dear, very funny," Patty agreed with an amused smile on her face. She glanced up at Luke. "Someone had a bit much to drink."  
  
"I see that," Luke replied. "I can take her from here, thanks."  
  
Patty and Babette held onto her as she took a wobbly step toward Luke. He supported her with his arms as she fell against him and rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
He glanced down at her. "There's no way you're gonna be able to walk all the way up the steps, is there?" She shook her head slightly. Luke took a deep breath. "Didn't think so. Okay, come on." He grunted as he hoisted her over his shoulder.  
  
Patty nudged Babette and they both smiled at Luke. "She's lucky to have such a strong, sexy, shirtless man to come home to," Patty said, eyeing his chest and arms.  
  
"Mmhmm," Babette agreed.  
  
Luke took a step back from them and gestured toward the house. "Uh, I'm gonna go put her to bed. Thanks for bringing her home in one piece." He turned around and carried Lorelai toward the house.  
  
* * *  
  
It was after one the next day when Lorelai groggily walked into the diner. She was wearing one of Luke's T-shirts and her sweat pants that she usually reserved for sleepwear, and her hair was still wet from her recent shower. Ignoring the looks from other customers, she walked to the counter, sat down on a stool, and abruptly rested her head on the countertop.  
  
A few minutes passed before she felt someone tape her shoulder, and she slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head. Luke was standing on the other side of the counter, a tall glass in his hand. "Hey. How ya feelin'?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai responded with a groan as she rubbed her eyes.  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much how you look. Nice outfit." He set the glass down and pushed it toward her. "Here, drink this."  
  
Lorelai eyed the yellowish substance. "What is it?"  
  
"Banana milkshake," Luke replied. "It'll make you feel better."  
  
Lorelai eyed him curiously as she took the straw into her mouth and tasted the drink. She pulled back and nodded approvingly. "Mm, pretty good." She sighed loudly and covered her face with her hands. "I feel. . .ugh. Just very, very. . .ugh."  
  
"What happened last night?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai looked up at him and shrugged. "I can't really remember. We went to a couple of clubs, we talked, we drank a lot, we shoved dollar bills down several guys' . . ." Luke shot her a look, and she grimaced. "Never mind, you don't need all the details."  
  
A man walked up to the counter to pay, and Luke walked over to the cash register. When he returned to Lorelai, he casually asked, "So. . .who's Antonio?"  
  
Lorelai looked up at him with a suspicious look. "What?"  
  
"Antonio," he repeated. He folded his arms across his chest. "Last night when I was putting you in bed, the phrase 'Antonio knows how to work it' was muttered more than once."  
  
A small smile appeared on Lorelai's lips. "I said that?"  
  
"Yes, you did," Luke said with a smirk.  
  
Lorelai giggled. "He was one of the strippers."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "That's what I assumed. Maybe next time you could try not to moan about other guys in bed, huh?"  
  
"I'll try," she promised as she took a sip of her milkshake.  
  
"Thank you. All right, I gotta go do diner-type stuff. You want anything else?"  
  
She tapped the side of her glass with her fingernails. "Another one of these, please," she mumbled with the straw still in her mouth.  
  
* * *  
  
On Thursday night, Lorelai and Rory were in the upstairs bathroom doing their makeup. Lorelai applied her mascara, then handed it to Rory and called, "Luke, are you almost ready?"  
  
The bedroom door opened and Luke stepped out dressed in his suit. "I'm not wearing a tie," he announced. "I'll wear one to the wedding, I'm not wearing one to the rehearsal dinner."  
  
Lorelai turned to Rory and rolled her eyes. "Men."  
  
Rory nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it."  
  
Lorelai smiled and walked out of the bathroom. Luke was standing near the bedroom door, and she nodded approvingly at his outfit as she walked over to him. "That looks good. You don't need a tie." She kissed him, then pulled back and smiled. "Mm, you smell good."  
  
"Mm, you taste good," he muttered as he leaned in to kiss her again.  
  
Lorelai smiled through the kiss. "That would be my strawberry-flavored lip gloss," she informed him. "You like?"  
  
"It's much better than the chocolate flavored one," Luke said. "Really, does even your makeup need to be junk-food?"  
  
Lorelai pretended to think it over, then said, "Uh - yes."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Is Rory almost ready? We have to be at the inn in fifteen minutes."  
  
"Relax. They can't start without the bridesmaids," Lorelai said. She walked into the bedroom and grabbed her purse.  
  
Luke followed her. "Actually, they can start without anyone who isn't the bride or groom. . .but I understand you're trying to make it seem like you're the most important part of this wedding."  
  
"Well, yeah, 'cause I'm the most important part of anything," Lorelai said as if that was obvious.  
  
Luke shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded. "Yes, that's absolutely right."  
  
Lorelai smirked. "I'm totally ignoring the sarcasm in your tone."  
  
He smiled and kissed her. "Okay, good."  
  
* * *  
  
After the practice ceremony at the inn, everyone returned to Sookie's house for dinner. A few hours passed as they ate, drank, and mingled, and after Lorelai had finished up her second piece of cake, she walked over to Luke, who was standing near the front door. "Hey."  
  
"Hey," Luke said. "You look tired."  
  
"I feel tired," she said as she rested her head on his chest.  
  
He brought one hand up around her waist. "You ready to go?"  
  
"Nah, I'm probably gonna stay late to help Sookie clean up," Lorelai said, still leaning against him. "But you don't have to wait for me. You can go whenever you want." She put a hand on her stomach. "Ugh, I ate too much."  
  
"What a surprise," Luke said, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai lifted her head up and sighed. "Man, Rory and I have so much to do tomorrow to help Sookie get ready. We have to finish the flowers and the favors and the centerpieces, and then decorate the inn at night and. . ." She groaned and slapped her forehead. "Ugh, and I completely forgot that it's Friday, which means we have to stop all the hard work and waste two hours of my day driving all the way to Hartford, having dinner with my parents, then driving all the way back." She put her hands on his shoulders. "Man, tomorrow's gonna kill me, I know it. Just shoot me now and get it over with, okay? And then remove my stomach and transplant it into someone else so that some other person out there can have the incredible superhuman eating capabilities that I have now." She sighed and leaned her forehead against the center of his chest. "I'm too stressed."  
  
Luke shook his head slightly. "Okay, you need to get some air. Let's go for a walk." He took Lorelai's hand and led her out the front door and onto the porch. They walked down the front steps, across the front walkway, and headed down the sidewalk.  
  
When they reached the darkened, empty diner, Luke unlocked the door and they walked inside. "You want some coffee?" he asked.  
  
"Actually, hot chocolate would totally hit the spot right now," she said, giving him a hopeful smile.  
  
He turned the light on and walked toward the counter. "Sit down. I'll go make some."  
  
As he disappeared into the kitchen, Lorelai sat down at a table. He returned a few minutes later with a mug and set it in front of her. Lorelai looked into it and smiled. "You added marshmallows!"  
  
Luke sat down next to her. "I know what you like."  
  
"Yes, you do." Lorelai took a sip, then set her mug down and stared at it for a few seconds. When she lifted her head, she pushed her hair behind her ears and cleared her throat. "Uh, Luke. . .I meant to tell you this earlier, but. . . I talked to Christopher yesterday."  
  
Surprised, Luke's eyes widened. "You did? Did he call?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, I called him."  
  
"You called him," he repeated slowly.  
  
"Yeah. I just needed to talk things out with him," Lorelai explained. "Just us, one on one, no screaming - just us calmly talking things out."  
  
"Calmly?" Luke asked.  
  
"Well, there was obviously a lot of emotion, yes, but for the most part it was calm," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke nodded. "Ah. So. . .everything's good now between you guys?"  
  
"Yeah," Lorelai said. "Well, as good as they can be after all this stuff has been laid out on the table. I mean, there's obviously still some weirdness between us, but. . ."  
  
Luke nodded. "Right, right. Well, I'm glad things are better. He probably had a few things to say about me. . ."  
  
"Well, he did bring up the exchange you guys had, and . . .I explained to him that everything you said was true," Lorelai said. "And I got the impression that he's sort of jealous of you. I mean, he realizes now how much Rory looks up to you and he really wants her to look up to him the same way."  
  
Luke smirked. "Huh."  
  
Lorelai smiled and slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Look at you, you're gloating."  
  
Luke shrugged. "I'm not gloating."  
  
"Right." Lorelai rolled her eyes and took a sip of her hot chocolate, then leaned toward him and smiled. "Hey, you know what?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Once all this stuff for Sookie's wedding is out of the way, we can start planning ours," she said.  
  
He smiled. "Yup."  
  
"It'll be so fun!" Lorelai said excitedly. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, a kiss he passionately returned. As she slowly pulled her lips from his, she smiled. "You know, if I wasn't five minutes away from pulling a Rip van Winkle, I'd drag you to the storage room so you could . . stock my shelf."  
  
"Out of energy, huh?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai nodded, then giggled softly. "But I have to say that I'd really enjoy seeing the look on your face when you pulled my dress up and discovered that I'm not wearing any underwear."  
  
Luke's eyes widened slightly and he swallowed hard.  
  
Lorelai smiled and gestured to his face. "Yeah, that's the look right there!"  
  
Luke exhaled loudly. "Okay, I think the implied rule is that if you're too tired to do it yourself, you can't go around getting others all hot and bothered."  
  
"Oops, sorry." Lorelai smiled innocently and sipped her hot chocolate.  
  
* * *  
  
On Saturday afternoon, dressed in his suit and tie, Luke was sitting on the living room sofa tapping his hands aimlessly on his knees. He glanced at his watch every few minutes, then finally walked to the bottom of the steps and called, "Are you ready yet?"  
  
"We'll be right down!" Lorelai called back.  
  
"You said that twenty minutes ago!" Luke reminded her.  
  
"This time we mean it!" Rory added.  
  
Luke sighed and walked back to the couch. He turned on the television and flipped through the channels until he came across a baseball game.  
  
Several minutes passed before he heard footsteps on the stairs, and he glanced over as Rory walked down in her green bridesmaid dress. "Girl number one is ready to go," she announced. "Girl number two is still doing her hair."  
  
Luke smiled. "Girl number one looks nice."  
  
"Girl number one thanks you," Rory replied, smiling appreciatively. As she walked toward the kitchen, Luke checked his watch, then brought his attention back to the television.  
  
A few minutes later, he was once again distracted by footsteps, and after turning off the television, he stared at the staircase expectantly. When Lorelai came into view, his eyes widened and a smile slowly formed on his lips.  
  
Lorelai stopped at the bottom steps and gestured to herself. "So, was it worth the wait?"  
  
He stood up and walked over to her, shaking his head in disbelief. "Absolutely." He put his hands on her waist and eyed her from top to bottom, starting with her straightened hair that hung over both shoulders, to the lowcut neckline that his eyes couldn't help linger on for a few seconds, all the way down to the bottom of her green dress. As he brought his gaze back up to meet hers, he said, "Wow. . .just, wow."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."  
  
"It definitely is," he confirmed.  
  
Lorelai stepped off the bottom step and hugged him tightly as Rory walked into the living room. She clapped her hands to get their attention. "Okay, break up the lovefest, we're supposed to be at Sookie's in five minutes."  
  
Luke pulled back from Lorelai. "Right, let's go."  
  
"Okay, I've heard that taking two Advil before you start drinking is good hangover prevention," Lorelai said as she walked over to the desk. She picked up her purse and shook it. "So I got a whole bottle in here."  
  
Rory smiled. "It's good to be prepared."  
  
"All right, come on," Luke said as he walked to the front door. "I'm just dropping you off at Sookie's, right?"  
  
"Yup. We're gonna help Sookie get ready and then we'll just come to the inn with her," Lorelai said. The three of them walked out the front door and climbed into the Explorer.  
  
* * *  
  
Forty-five minutes later, Luke was talking with some people on the back porch of the inn when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and smiled when he saw Lorelai. "Hey."  
  
She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey, we just got here. Oh my God, you should see Sookie, she looks so amazing!"  
  
"I'm sure she does," Luke said, nodding.  
  
Lorelai held up her bouquet in front of his face. "Smell this. Nice, huh?"  
  
Luke pushed it away and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, great," he replied dryly. "Makes me wish I had one for myself."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You can have this one when I'm done with it." They walked across the porch away from the crowd, and she gestured toward the yard. "So, what do you think?"  
  
"It looks good," he said. He looked toward the piano and said, "I never knew Kirk had such a passion for singing."  
  
"Me either," Lorelai replied, following his gaze. They watched him sing for a few seconds. "Ooh! Maybe you guys could start up a traveling duet or something. . .you can play your guitar, he can sing, I can be Penny Lane, we can all sing Tiny Dancer on a tour bus, it'd be fun."  
  
"Sounds it," he replied.  
  
"Although then it would put an end to the whole 'I'm the only one who can hear you play the guitar because I'm special' mystique and then I wouldn't feel special anymore," Lorelai said, frowning.  
  
"Well, then, I guess I'll have to give up my dream of starting a band with Kirk," he replied.  
  
"You'd do that for me?" Lorelai asked hopefully.  
  
Luke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Well, if you really want me to."  
  
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "You're cute." She pulled back and adjusted the knot of his tie, then grimaced and pulled her hand away. "Oh God, that was so something my mother would do. Never let me do that again, okay?"  
  
"Gladly," Luke replied. As he noticed people starting to sit down for the ceremony, he glanced down at his watch. "It's about to start."  
  
Lorelai grabbed his wrist and turned it toward her to look at the watch. "Yes, it is. I have to find Rory."  
  
"Where is she?" Luke asked.  
  
"She went to find Dean and Lane," Lorelai replied. She scanned the yard, and when she finally spotted Rory, Lorelai turned to Luke. "I see her. Go get a seat. I'll see you after the ceremony."  
  
"Okay, don't trip," Luke said, leaning in to kiss her.  
  
Lorelai pulled back and smacked him on the shoulder. "No! Don't talk about it, you'll jinx it!"  
  
Luke smiled and kissed her. "Bye."  
  
Lorelai walked across the yard over to Rory, and then the two of them walked to the bridge and waited for their cue to walk down the aisle. Rory glanced over at Lorelai. "You look nervous," Rory commented.  
  
"Yeah, because Luke told me not to trip," Lorelai replied.  
  
Rory gasped. "Doesn't he know you're not supposed to say that?"  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Apparently not." The music started, and Lorelai's eyes widened. "Ooh, here we go." They walked slowly down the steps and across the yard, through the aisle separating the rows of people, and took their places opposite of Jackson on the other side of the chuppah.  
  
As everyone stood up and turned to wait for Sookie, Lorelai scanned the crowd for Luke and saw him smiling at her. "You didn't fall," he mouthed to her.  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded, then turned her attention to a beaming Sookie who had begun her walk down the aisle.  
  
* * *  
  
After Sookie and Jackson's first kiss as husband and wife, the spectators all rose and applauded loudly. Lorelai and Rory both had tears streaming down their faces as they followed the newly-married couple down the aisle back toward the inn.  
  
As soon as they reached the porch, Jackson continued walking as Sookie turned around and giggled excitedly. "I'm married!"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yes, you are!" She leaned forward and hugged her tightly. "I'm so happy for you, Sookie." As she pulled back, she wiped her eyes. "Oh man, it's all your fault I'm crying. I was fine holding back the tears until I saw you crying."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Sorry about that."  
  
Rory stepped up to Sookie and hugged her. "Don't apologize. It's your wedding, you can do whatever you want."  
  
"Thank you," Sookie replied. As she pulled back from the hug, she took a deep breath. "Okay, here's the game plan. . .we're gonna greet the people out here on the porch as they go inside for the reception, then while they're getting all settled and eating the appetizers, we're gonna take pictures out here with the bridal party, and then we'll go in, too."  
  
"Sounds great," Lorelai said.  
  
Sookie widened her eyes. "How's the makeup?"  
  
Lorelai gave her a thumbs-up. "Perfect and smudge-free. Good thing we went with the waterproof mascara." She glanced over her shoulder. "We'll be over there when you need us for pictures."  
  
Sookie nodded. "Okay." She walked over to Jackson and stood near the inn door to greet the guests.  
  
Lorelai and Rory walked across the porch and watched the people file from the rows of chairs. Lorelai nudged Rory and said, "Is that Jess?"  
  
Rory followed her gaze, then smiled. "Yup."  
  
"Huh, so he decided to come after all," Lorelai said. "And he brought Jill."  
  
"Yeah, it wasn't easy to convince him to, but we had a nice conversation about how Jill would like it much more than the usual 'dinner and a movie' date," Rory explained.  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Jess and Jill - "  
  
"Not this again," Rory interrupted, rolling her eyes.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "No, this one's gonna be good, I swear! Jess and Jill went up the hill to fetch some new CD's. Jess said 'Look!' and dropped his book, and Jill said, 'I like cheese.'"  
  
Rory made a face. "That one doesn't even make sense."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Excuse me? Which part doesn't make sense? They're both into music, hence the CD shopping. Jess has said the word 'look' before, so that part's plausible. They both work at the bookstore, so anything relating to books is fine. And we saw them two weeks ago eating pizza, so we know she likes cheese. There - makes perfect sense."  
  
Rory shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know, it wasn't really flowing well for me. You've done better."  
  
"Yeah, well, not all of them can be winners," Lorelai said. They sat down on a bench and talked for a few minutes until Luke walked over to them.  
  
Lorelai smiled up at him. "Hey."  
  
"Hey. What are you guys doing over here?" he asked.  
  
"Waiting to take pictures with Sookie and Jackson," Rory replied.  
  
"After all the guests go inside," Lorelai added. "Did you follow the line to congratulate them?"  
  
"Yup, then I came over here," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai shook her finger at him. "Uh oh, you broke out of line, that's going to lead to complete and utter chaos."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Okay, Taylor."  
  
Lorelai smirked. "Funny."  
  
"I know," he replied. He glanced toward the line of people, which was slowly dwindling as they filed into the inn. "All right, I'm going in."  
  
"Mmkay," Lorelai said. "We'll see you after the pictures."  
  
"Bye." Luke walked across the porch and went into the inn.  
  
* * *  
  
Thirty minutes later, Sookie, Jackson, and the bridal party were poised to enter the dining room. They stood in the hallway outside the closed doors, and could hear the DJ inside announcing everyone to direct their attention to the doorway.  
  
The doors opened, and the four members of the bridal party entered the room to applause. They walked to the edge of the dance floor, and turned their attention back to the door as Sookie and Jackson entered the room to a much louder applause.  
  
As the applause died down and the music started, Sookie and Jackson began their first dance. Everyone watched them for a minute before other couples slowly started filing onto the dance floor and began dancing around them.  
  
Lorelai walked over to Luke's table. She set her bouquet down and gestured to the dance floor. "Come on."  
  
Luke stood up with a sigh. "We're not doing this all night."  
  
"I know, I know," Lorelai said, dragging him onto the dance floor.  
  
Luke took one of her hands and held it against his chest, and he placed his other hand on her back. As they started dancing, Lorelai smiled up at him. "See, dancing at this wedding won't be so bad because no one will be looking at us. Everyone's looking at the bride and groom. You know what that means?"  
  
"Yes, it means we're banning dancing at our wedding 'cause everyone'll be looking at us," Luke said.  
  
"Or we could just lock ourselves in a room and dance privately where no one can see us," Lorelai suggested.  
  
"Let me tell you something, if we find ourselves locked in a room in the middle of our wedding secluded from everyone else, dancing's the last thing that'll be on my mind," Luke informed her.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, what was I thinking?" She pressed her lips against his and kissed him softly, then pulled back and rested her chin on his shoulder as they continued dancing.  
  
* * *  
  
PART 55  
  
* * *  
  
When the first song ended, the couples dispersed from the dance floor, and Lorelai walked Luke back to his table. She picked up her bouquet and gestured toward the head table. "All right, I gotta sit up there with the bridal party, but I'll come visit you when I'm done eating."  
  
"You're leaving me alone with Patty and Babette?" Luke asked quietly. "What do I do when they start trying to seduce me?"  
  
"Same thing you did last time, run and hide in a closet," Lorelai replied.  
  
Luke glanced over at them warily. "Maybe we should try to limit their alcohol."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Morey's right there and Patty has her own date, so they won't be paying any attention to you. I'll be back soon." She kissed him on the cheek and started walking toward the head table.  
  
She noticed Michel standing in the corner of the room, and she walked over to him. "Hey, how's everything going?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Hugging his clipboard against his chest, he sighed and asked, "Can I leave now?"  
  
"No, you cannot leave," Lorelai replied. "And if you don't start at least trying to look friendly, I'm gonna tell everyone here that you keep a copy of Oprah's magazine under the front desk and you look at it when you're bored."  
  
Michel scoffed. "I don't - "  
  
"I've seen it, Michel," Lorelai interrupted.  
  
Michel huffed, then pursed his lips together and mumbled, "It has interesting articles."  
  
"I'm sure it does," Lorelai agreed. "Now, come on, this isn't some stranger's wedding. It's Sookie's - your coworker, your acquaintance, your fr- . . . well, friend might be a bit of a stretch, but whatever you wanna call her. . .remember, it's for Sookie, so please be nice."  
  
Michel forced a smile. "How's this? Better? Good, now leave me alone."  
  
Lorelai patted him on the shoulder. "Thank you." She walked over to the head table and sat down next to Rory. "Hey you."  
  
"Hey," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai glanced past Rory and saw the three men of the bridal party sitting at the other end of the rectangular table. "Have you seen Sookie?" Lorelai asked Rory.  
  
"No, I . . ." Her voice trailed off and they stared at each other for a second until they both realized where she was. "Uh oh."  
  
"Let's go," Lorelai said, standing up. She and Rory walked across the dining room and through the swinging door that led to the kitchen. Several chefs and waiters were walking around, and Lorelai scanned the crowded kitchen until they saw Sookie across the room near the cake.  
  
They rushed over to her. "Sookie, what are you doing in here?" Lorelai asked. "I'm pretty sure you took the day off today."  
  
Sookie stepped back and admired the cake. "Just needed to check on Dexter, and make sure he didn't need any little touch-ups."  
  
"No, he looks perfect, Sookie - right, hon?" Lorelai nudged Rory.  
  
Rory nodded. "The best wedding cake I've ever seen."  
  
"See, we both think it looks great." Lorelai grabbed Sookie's hand and led her toward the door. "Now, I don't want you in here anymore, Sookie. It's your wedding day, you shouldn't be worrying about anything. Don't make me get a bodyguard to block the door."  
  
Sookie sighed. "Okay, okay." She glanced over her shoulder for one last concerned look at the cake before they exited the kitchen.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Lorelai had pulled up a chair next to Luke, and they sat talking alone at his table.  
  
"So, you're telling me you would rather eat an entire piece of chocolate cake than get out there and do the chicken dance?" Lorelai asked, gesturing to the dance floor.  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah, because in a town like this, the embarrassment of the dancing will hurt me a lot more than the unhealthiness of the cake."  
  
Lorelai nodded understandably. "Right, right." She paused a moment, then asked, "Hey, you're gonna have cake at our wedding, right? I mean, you have to eat your own wedding cake, I think it's the law. Plus, we have to do that cutesy thing where we feed it to each other and smear it all over each other's faces. I've always wanted to do that."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Uh, I don't think so."  
  
Lorelai gasped. "You're not gonna eat your own wedding cake?"  
  
"I'll eat my own wedding cake, but I'm not going to wear it," he said dryly. "Forget the cutesy stuff."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Please? What if we just feed it to each other but I promise not to shove it in your face?" Luke tilted his head and gave her a doubtful look, and Lorelai let out a small laugh. "What? I promise! I've never lied to you." She paused a moment and narrowed her eyes. "At least, not that I remember."  
  
He picked up his drink and took a sip, then placed it back on the table. "I'll think about it."  
  
"Tsk, it's a romantic tradition, we're doing it," Lorelai said. She glanced around the room and smiled when she saw Sookie and Jackson talking with some of their guests. "Aw, look at how happy they are. I love seeing 'em like that."  
  
"When are they leaving for Hawaii?" Luke asked.  
  
"Tomorrow morning," Lorelai replied. "For a week."  
  
"They can afford that?" Luke asked curiously.  
  
"Actually, Jackson's parents are paying for half as part of their wedding present," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Oh, wow," Luke said. "That was nice."  
  
"Yeah, Sookie was really excited about it," Lorelai said, smiling. "She never thought she'd get to go somewhere like that for her honeymoon."  
  
"I bet they'll - "  
  
"Excuse me, Luke?" a voice interrupted. Luke and Lorelai both turned around and saw Kirk standing behind them, his hands clasped nervously in front of him. "Can I talk to you for a second?"  
  
"What is it, Kirk?" Luke asked.  
  
Kirk glanced quickly toward Lorelai before he gestured over his shoulder. "Um, it's sort of a private matter, if you don't mind. It'll only take a second."  
  
Luke and Lorelai looked at each other questioningly before Luke shrugged and stood up. "Be right back."  
  
"Okay," she replied. She watched as Luke followed Kirk to the corner of the room and began talking with him. After a few seconds, she saw Luke smile, then say something to Kirk and pat him on the shoulder. Kirk walked away, and Luke walked back over to Lorelai with a grin on his face.  
  
Lorelai smiled curiously as he sat down. "What's with the smirking?"  
  
"Oh, nothing," he replied nonchalantly.  
  
"Spill it."  
  
Still smiling, Luke shook his head slightly. "Well, our old pal Kirk, after assuring me that he wasn't going to try to steal you away from me, asked me if it was okay if he asked you to dance."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened and she let out a gasp. "Oh my God, please tell me you said no," she begged. "Tell me that you were really offended and that you threatened to beat him up, and that you're smiling because you feel powerful and manly and not because you did something really awful and told him yes just because you knew I'd say no to him and you wanted to get a cheap laugh at the expense of poor Kirk!"  
  
Luke laughed. "I told him that it was perfectly fine by me."  
  
Lorelai gasped and smacked him on the shoulder. "Luke!"  
  
"Can't wait to see how you try to get out of it," Luke added. "You're always fun to watch under pressure."  
  
Lorelai sighed loudly and scowled at him. "I can't believe you did that for your own personal amusement," she said bitterly. "You're so mean."  
  
"Hey, who am I to be possessive?" Luke asked innocently. "I think this shows just how comfortable I am with you interacting with other men."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Right. I highly doubt you'd be this open to the possibility of me dancing with someone who doesn't live with his mother, or have a website devoted to The Wonder Years because he thinks if he keeps it going long enough they'll bring the series back."  
  
Luke nodded. "Sure I would, but this is far more entertaining." He turned toward the dance floor and saw Kirk walking toward them, then turned back to Lorelai and smirked. "Uh oh, here comes your new boyfriend."  
  
Lorelai smacked his shoulder again. "Stop it."  
  
When Kirk reached them, he cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, excuse me, Lorelai?"  
  
Lorelai turned around and glanced up at him with an awkward smile. "Yeah Kirk?" she said hesitantly.  
  
Kirk gestured to the dance floor. "Uh, I was wondering if you'd perhaps like to. . . dance with me?"  
  
Lorelai gave him an appreciative smile, then said, "Aw, I'd love to, Kirk, but I. . ." Her voice trailed off as she glanced at Luke and saw him smiling to himself. Lorelai thought for a moment, then smiled up at Kirk. "Actually, sure, I'd like that, Kirk." She stood up and gave a pointed look toward Luke. "At least someone here wants to dance with me." Luke's eyes widened with surprise as Lorelai followed Kirk onto the dance floor.  
  
* * *  
  
A few hours later, Lorelai, Luke, and Rory were walking up their porch steps. As Luke unlocked the door, Rory and Lorelai leaned against each other. "That was an amazing wedding," Lorelai said, stifling a yawn.  
  
"Yes, it was," Rory agreed. "The food was great, the cake was amazing, the music was good. . ."  
  
"And that Kirk's a damn good dancer," Lorelai added.  
  
"So that's why you danced with him three times?" Luke asked as he pushed open the front door.  
  
As the girls walked past him into the house, Lorelai smirked. "Jealous?"  
  
"Extremely," he replied dryly as he followed them into the living room. "For a minute there, I thought you were gonna give me the ring back and run off with him instead."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I was thinking about it, but then I decided that you should never marry someone who scares you."  
  
"I guess Luke shouldn't marry you then because I think he's scared of your fluctuating maturity level," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai stuck her tongue out at her. "Funny."  
  
Rory smiled and started walking toward her bedroom. "Goodnight."  
  
"Night, hon," Lorelai said.  
  
"Night," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai yawned as she walked over to Luke. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him, then rested her head against his chest. "I'm so tired."  
  
He brought his arms up and hugged her. "Me too."  
  
"Carry me upstairs, please," Lorelai muttered.  
  
Luke pulled back from her and rolled his eyes. "No. I already did that once this week, I'm not doing it again."  
  
Lorelai pouted. "Mean." Luke started walking toward the staircase, and she slowly followed behind him.  
  
* * *  
  
On Wednesday night, Lorelai and Rory were sitting at a table in the diner with magazines and notebooks spread open in front of them.  
  
"Oh, talk to Patty about borrowing chairs and tables," Lorelai said.  
  
"Okay." Rory wrote it down in her notebook. "That's yet another thing we can't do until you pick a date, though."  
  
"Yeah, true." Lorelai looked over at the counter and called, "Luke, come on!"  
  
"I said I'd be there in a few minutes," he replied from near the cash register.  
  
"Yeah, well, you said that like. . .more than a few minutes ago," she reminded him. Luke waved her off and walked into the kitchen. Lorelai turned back to Rory and sighed. "Find new prospective husband, write that down."  
  
"You still haven't told me where the ceremony's gonna be," Rory said.  
  
"Yes, I did," Lorelai replied. "I told you yesterday."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "Oh, silly me, I thought you might've been joking when you said you were flying to Paris to be wed on top of the Eiffel Tower."  
  
"No, I never joke," Lorelai said, shaking her head.  
  
"Really, what did you guys decide?" Rory asked. "Our house?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. We went back and forth with a bunch of other possible places, you know, like the inn or Miss Patty's studio," she explained. "But we both decided that it'd be the most private and intimate if we did it at our house."  
  
"Outside?" Rory asked.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Kind of like Sookie's shower?" Rory asked. "With the tables and stuff set up in the two yards?"  
  
"Sort of," Lorelai said. She glanced at Rory's notebook. "Here, I'll show you." She took the notebook and flipped to the next page, then picked up a pencil and sketched an outline of the yard. "Wow, okay, I'm not the next Bob Ross."  
  
"Definitely not," Rory agreed, looking on. "No one draws happy trees like him."  
  
Lorelai finished up the sketch, then said, "Okay, so, we'll move the chuppah right here between our house and Babette's house, and there'll be an aisle leading to it with rows of chairs lined up on either side for people to sit. . . you know what I mean?"  
  
"Sort of," Rory replied. "So the ceremony will be in the little strip of yard between the two houses?"  
  
"Right," Lorelai replied. She drew a large square surrounded by some smaller circles in the front yard. "And then in the front toward the driveway will be the dance floor, centered between the two houses, and then around that will be all the tables for eating."  
  
Rory smiled. "Sounds good."  
  
"We just have to check with Babette and Morey to make sure we can use their yard," Lorelai said. "But I'm sure they won't mind."  
  
"Nah, they won't care," Rory agreed. She noticed Luke walking toward them and smiled. "Look who finally decided to join the party."  
  
Lorelai turned to look at him. "Ah, finally."  
  
"You two do realize that I'm at work here, don't you?" Luke asked as he sat down.  
  
"Yes, but this is more important," Lorelai said. "We need to pick a wedding date."  
  
"Yeah, well, if you don't let me work, we won't have any money to pay for the wedding, and therefore won't need to pick a date at all," Luke said.  
  
"Shhh," Lorelai hushed him and held her hand out to Rory. "Calendar?"  
  
Rory looked under the stack of magazines in front of her until she found the calendar, and she passed it to Lorelai.  
  
"Thank you." Lorelai flipped it open to August and put it in front of Luke. "Okay, today's the seventh. You said you wanted early September. . . you still want it?"  
  
"Yeah, if you think we can plan this wedding in a month," Luke replied.  
  
"I think we can since it's only gonna be a small thing," Lorelai said. "I mean, it's not one of those 200-guest weddings where you need to order everything years in advance."  
  
"Do you think you can find dresses before then?" Luke asked. Lorelai glanced at Rory, and the two shared a smile that made Luke narrow his eyes with curiosity. "What?"  
  
"Don't worry about the dresses," Lorelai told him.  
  
"Why? Did you buy them already?" Luke asked.  
  
"No, but we have some in mind," Lorelai said. "Don't worry about 'em. Just pick a date."  
  
Luke turned the page of the calendar to September. "Uh, what about Sunday the first?"  
  
"Sunday the first. . .Sunday the first," Lorelai repeated. "Mm, nope, no plans that day." Lorelai smiled at Luke, then handed him a pen. "Shall we make it official?"  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, nothing says official like an EraserMate pen." He wrote 'Wedding Day' on September first, then underlined it for good measure. "There ya go." Lorelai and Rory stared at him expectantly, and he narrowed his eyes. "What?"  
  
"You're not even gonna put a cute little heart or a happy face on there somewhere?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Come on, you gotta add some sign to it that indicates you're actually looking forward to the day," Rory added.  
  
"I underlined it," Luke reminded them.  
  
"Heart," Lorelai instructed, tapping her finger on the calendar.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and quickly added a heart around the square. "Happy?"  
  
"Yes." Lorelai took the calendar from him and stared at the heart-encased date, then handed it to Rory. She leaned toward Luke and kissed him, then pulled back and smiled. "We have a wedding date."  
  
"Yes, we do," Luke replied. "And it's the first of the month so it'll be easy to remember for anniversaries."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thinking ahead, huh? I like that."  
  
Luke stood up. "All right, I gotta get back in the kitchen. Anything else you need?"  
  
"Yes, could you please call Regis and tell him to stop letting that chick who sits next to him make commercials?" Lorelai asked. "Some people were just not made for acting in commercials, and she is a prime example of that."  
  
"I'll get right on that," Luke muttered as he walked away.  
  
"Thank you," Lorelai called after him. She turned to Rory. "Really, though, have you seen her water commercial where she's like jumping all over the place? It's really annoying."  
  
"Yeah, that one's even worse than the Pantene commercial," Rory said.  
  
"They both suck," Lorelai said. "They've done the opposite of what commercials are supposed to do. They've actually turned me against the products."  
  
"We're very picky about our commercials," Rory said.  
  
"Yes, we are," Lorelai agreed.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai and Rory were both sitting on the sofa watching television with bowls of popcorn in their laps. "Do you think Anthony Edwards looks back at this movie and feels embarrassed to have it on his resume?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "How could you be embarrassed of Revenge of the Nerds? I'd be honored."  
  
"It's definitely a classic," Rory agreed. "But I think he kind of got a big head after all his ER fame so he might feel a little insecure about Nerds."  
  
"Well, now his ER fame is gone," Lorelai said. "And I bet he's so desperate for a job that he's at some studio right now begging for another Nerds sequel."  
  
"Ooh, I'd love to see that," Rory said excitedly. "They could - " She was interrupted by the ringing phone, and she reached for the cordless on the coffee table. "Hello?" She smiled and exclaimed, "Hey Sookie! How's Hawaii?"  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened and she smiled.  
  
"Good," Rory said. "Can't wait to see pictures. . . okay. . ..here's Mom." Rory handed the phone to Lorelai. "It's Sookie."  
  
"Yes, I heard," Lorelai replied. She quickly brought the phone to her ear. "Hey Sookie!"  
  
"Hey sweetie," Sookie replied. "What are you doing?"  
  
"What am I doing?" Lorelai asked with a laugh. "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be off doing honeymoon-type things?"  
  
"Well, Jackson's in the shower and then we're going to a luau for dinner," Sookie said. "You know, they have a lot of luaus here."  
  
"Yeah, I've heard that about Hawaii," Lorelai said, smiling. "And I'll try to refrain from any jokes about you getting lei-d by the Hawaiian men."  
  
Sookie giggled. "Thank you."  
  
"So, how's the honeymoon so far?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Terrific," Sookie replied. "Everything's been fabulous." She lowered her voice and said, "We just had a conversation that I couldn't wait to tell you about, so I had to call."  
  
"Ooh, sounds juicy," Lorelai said. "What's it about?"  
  
"Kids," Sookie replied.  
  
"You guys talked about kids?" Lorelai asked, and she gave an intrigued look toward Rory, who was listening intently to Lorelai's side of the conversation.  
  
"Yes," Sookie replied. "He mentioned that he's always dreamed of having a big family with like five kids."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Wow, five? Uh, did he offer to help carry them to term?"  
  
"I know, right? That's a lot of kids. So we talked it over and we realized that we both want at least two, so that's what we're aiming for right now, and if we want more after that. . .then we'll deal with it when the time comes," Sookie explained. "So we're gonna start trying in a few months."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Aw, Sookie, that's awesome!"  
  
"You're not mad?" Sookie asked nervously.  
  
Lorelai let out a surprised laugh. "Mad? Why would I be mad?"  
  
"Well, because. . ." Sookie sighed. "I mean, I know we haven't talked about it in awhile, but us opening our own inn is gonna have to be pushed back even further now."  
  
"Oh," Lorelai replied, nodding understandably. "Don't worry about that, Sookie. Let's concentrate on this family stuff first and then we'll deal with the inn stuff when we're ready. In fact. . .Luke and I are gonna try soon, too."  
  
Sookie gasped. "No!"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"He wants kids?" Sookie asked.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Oh my God, what if we get pregnant around the same time and then our kids grow up together and are best friends!" Sookie said excitedly.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "That would be adorable."  
  
Sookie was quiet for a second, then said, "Ooh, Jackson's out of the shower. . .I gotta go. I'll see you in a few days."  
  
"Okay," Lorelai replied. "Have a great rest-of-your-honeymoon, Sookie."  
  
"Thanks. Bye."  
  
"Bye." Lorelai hung up the phone and dropped it next to her on the couch. Rory was staring at her expectantly, and Lorelai smiled. "They talked about having kids."  
  
Rory smiled. "Aw, they'll make such cute parents."  
  
Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Yes, they will."  
  
* * *  
  
On Friday Night, Lorelai and Rory walked up to Emily and Richard's house. Rory rang the doorbell, and a few seconds later, Emily pulled open the door.  
  
She smiled. "Hello girls." She glanced past them and narrowed her eyes. "What's that?"  
  
Lorelai and Rory followed her gaze to Luke's truck. They turned back to Emily, and Lorelai explained, "Oh, that's Luke's new truck. Nice, huh?"  
  
"Yes, it's very nice," Emily said. They stepped into the house and she closed the door. "What's wrong with your car?"  
  
"Nothing," Rory replied. "She pretended she didn't have enough gas to get here in the Jeep so he would let her take that one."  
  
"Ah," Emily replied.  
  
"But of course he saw through the story," Rory added.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "But he was so impressed by the attempted lie that he encouraged me to take it anyway."  
  
"Well, that was nice," Emily replied.  
  
"No, he was just so annoyed by your whining that he threw his keys at you and told you to leave him alone," Rory corrected her.  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Okay, so I was a little fuzzy on the details."  
  
Emily led them into the living room. "He threw his keys at you?"  
  
Lorelai and Rory sat down on the couch. "No, he didn't throw them at me," Lorelai replied. "He was upstairs and I was downstairs and they were in his pocket, so he had to drop them down the steps. It was more of a drop."  
  
"Yeah, drop would be a good word," Rory agreed.  
  
"Right, a drop," Emily said. She stood in front of the bar. "So, drinks?"  
  
"Soda," Rory replied.  
  
"White wine," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Coming right up," Emily replied as she began fixing the drinks.  
  
After a few seconds of silence, Rory cleared her throat. "So, Grandma, is Grandpa here tonight?"  
  
Emily walked over and handed them their drinks. "Yes, he's in his study. I'm just about to go get him."  
  
"Oh, would you mind if I went?" Rory asked. "I wanted to talk to him about something."  
  
"Oh," Emily replied. "Of course, go ahead."  
  
Rory smiled and stood up. "Thanks." She set her drink on the coffee table.  
  
Emily sat down in the chair adjacent to the sofa and watched Rory walk out of the room. When she was gone, she turned to Lorelai and asked, "What was all that about?"  
  
Lorelai took a sip of her wine, then shrugged. "I thought it was pretty self-explanatory, Mom. She wants to talk to Dad about something."  
  
"Yes, I understood that part," Emily replied. "But what about?"  
  
"I'm sure we'll find out eventually," Lorelai assured her. "Let's just wait and see, huh?"  
  
"You already know, don't you?" Emily accused her.  
  
"Yes, I do," Lorelai replied with a smile.  
  
"Why won't you tell me?"  
  
"Because it's for Rory to tell you, not me," Lorelai replied.  
  
Emily pursed her lips and sighed disappointedly. "Fine."  
  
"So, Sookie's in Hawaii right now on her honeymoon," Lorelai said, trying to make conversation.  
  
"Oh, that sounds nice," Emily said. "I bet she's having a wonderful time. When is she coming home?"  
  
"Sunday afternoon," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Lovely," Emily said.  
  
"Mmhmm," Lorelai muttered, nodding aimlessly. She took a sip of her wine and glanced toward the doorway, anxiously waiting for Rory to return.  
  
"So, tell me, have you picked a wedding date yet?" Emily asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yes, actually, we just did this week. September first."  
  
Emily's eyes widened. "September first . . .of this year?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"There's no way you can plan an entire wedding in less than a month, Lorelai!" Emily exclaimed. "It's impossible."  
  
"It's perfectly possible, Mother," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"These things take years to plan!" Emily insisted.  
  
"It's just gonna be immediate family and close friends," Lorelai told her. "It's not going to be some huge Liza Minelli-type wedding, Mom. It'll just be a quaint little thing."  
  
"But Lorelai, if it's because of money - "  
  
"Mom," Lorelai interrupted. "It's not because of money. We would throw a huge 'plan three years in advance' type of wedding if we wanted it - but that's not what we want. It's gonna be a nice little ceremony in our yard with the people closest to us. I'm sure that's not the wedding you've envisioned for me, but it's the one you're gonna get, okay?"  
  
"Fine, fine," Emily replied. "You know, your father and I talked about - " Her voice trailed off as Rory and Richard entered the room. "Well, here they are. . .everything all right?"  
  
As Rory sat down next to Lorelai, Richard smiled proudly as he walked over to fix himself a drink. "Everything's better than fine. Everything's wonderful."  
  
"Well, come on, tell us what's going on," Emily urged.  
  
"Just a minute, Emily," Richard replied. He finished pouring his drink, then walked over to the empty couch and sat down. He nodded toward Rory and said, "Your granddaughter has just asked me if I could help her set up a tour of Yale."  
  
Emily's eyes widened and she turned to Rory. "What?"  
  
"Yes, apparently, after some heavy thinking, Rory has decided that she wants to look into Yale as her possible university of choice," Richard said, smiling approvingly at Rory.  
  
"When did this happen?" Emily asked Rory.  
  
Lorelai patted Rory on the knee. "When she heard that Yale has a better bartending program than Harvard."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes at her mother, then turned back to Emily. "Um, I've been thinking about it for awhile, over a month actually. . .and after doing some research and thinking things out, I decided that maybe Harvard isn't the school of my dreams." She shrugged and added, "Not to say that Yale definitely is, but hopefully a tour will help me find out."  
  
"Huh," Emily mused the situation. "Well, isn't that interesting."  
  
"Yes, indeed it is," Richard agreed.  
  
"So on Monday, Grandpa's gonna help me set up a tour," Rory added.  
  
"Oh, great," Lorelai said. "Thanks Dad."  
  
"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Richard replied. "I'm happy to do it."  
  
Emily took a sip of her wine, then said, "Oh, Richard, Lorelai has decided on a wedding date. Would you like to hear it?"  
  
"Oh boy," Lorelai muttered under her breath.  
  
"Yes, of course," he replied.  
  
"September first," Emily announced.  
  
"September first?" Richard repeated. "Of this year?"  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Yes, of this year."  
  
"Well, isn't that a bit soon?" Richard asked.  
  
Emily gave Lorelai a pointed smirk. "See?"  
  
Lorelai sighed. "No, it's not too soon. It gives us plenty of time to plan the wedding, trust me."  
  
"Well, if you say so, Lorelai." Richard shrugged and gave a doubtful look toward Emily. "Did you tell her what we talked about, Emily?"  
  
"Oh, no, I was about to when you two came in," Emily replied.  
  
"What's going on?" Lorelai asked. "Don't tell me, you wanna sing karaoke at the wedding?" She nudged Rory and they both giggled.  
  
Emily rolled her eyes. "No. Your father and I discussed it, and we decided that we want to pay for the wedding."  
  
Lorelai's eyes widened slightly, and she shook her head. "No, Dad, Mom - I told you money's not an issue," she said. "We're paying for it ourselves."  
  
"You're our daughter, Lorelai," Emily said. "It's customary for the parents of the bride to pay for the wedding."  
  
"It's customary in families where said bride is twenty-two and a fresh graduate from some prestigious med school and is getting ready to make her way in the world," Lorelai replied. "Not in a family where said bride is pushing thirty five and has a job and can afford to pay for her own wedding."  
  
Emily sighed. "Lorelai, we are well aware of your insistence to do as much as you can in life without our help, but - "  
  
"But we decided that the best wedding gift we could give you would be to cover the cost of the wedding," Richard finished. "We know you don't need it, Lorelai, but we really want to do this."  
  
"I know you guys wanna help, but there's no way that I'm letting you pay for this entire wedding. That's completely out of the question," Lorelai said.  
  
"Lorelai, why can't you let us do something nice for you just once?" Emily complained. "At least let us pay for something - the cake, the caterer, the flowers, something, anything. Let us give you a nice - "  
  
Lorelai interrupted her with a groan. "Okay, Mom, okay, you can pay for the. . .uh, the. . . invitations."  
  
Emily's eyes widened with surprise. "What?"  
  
"Yes, you heard me. If you stop bugging me about it, I will let you pay for the wedding invitations," Lorelai said. "There - are you happy?"  
  
Emily smiled. "Oh, that's wonderful. Have you picked them out yet?"  
  
"Nope, not yet," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Well, we should do that soon. I'll have to get in touch with Mason - he does all of my party invitations," Emily said.  
  
Lorelai turned to Rory and forced a smile. "She has a personal invitation contact-person."  
  
Rory gave an impressed nod. "Interesting."  
  
Richard stood up and rubbed his hands together. "So, what do you say we go see if dinner's ready, hm?" He reached down and picked up his drink.  
  
"Yes, let's," Emily said as she stood up. She followed Richard out of the room, and Lorelai and Rory slowly trailed behind them.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, it was slightly after nine when Lorelai walked into the bedroom. Luke, in just his boxers, was on the bed watching television, and he sat up when she walked in. "Hey." He turned off the television, then set the remote on the nightstand.  
  
Lorelai shut the door and walked over to the bed. She leaned down and kissed him, then collapsed on the bed next to him with a sigh. "Hey."  
  
Luke ran his hand over her thigh. "How was dinner?"  
  
"Well, if you mean the lamb, mashed potatoes, and vegetables, then it was great," Lorelai replied. "If you mean the actual night as a whole, then it was so-so."  
  
"What happened?" Luke asked.  
  
"Nothing much," she replied. "My mom likes the new truck. Rory talked to my father about setting up a tour of Yale. My parents are paying for our wedding invitations." She climbed off the bed and began undressing.  
  
Luke's eyes widened. "What? Really?"  
  
"Yeah, they offered to pay for the whole wedding," Lorelai told him.  
  
"And you said no to that," Luke inferred.  
  
"Of course I said no," Lorelai replied. "But I could tell my mom wasn't gonna give up, so I told them they could pay for the invitations."  
  
When Lorelai had undressed down to her underwear, Luke leaned back against the headboard and watched her as she walked over to his dresser and pulled open one of the drawers. She took out one of his T-shirts and slipped it over her head, and as she pulled her hair out from the collar, she sat back down on the edge of the bed. "There. That's much more comfy."  
  
"Problem with your own shirts?" Luke asked.  
  
"No, but I like wearing yours," Lorelai replied. She crawled up to lay next to him, and she propped herself up on her side. She ran her fingers through the soft patch of hair on his chest as she said, "Let's talk."  
  
"About what?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. Anything you want. Let's have one of those nights where we just stay up all night talking."  
  
"All night? I'm pretty tired already."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Okay, maybe not all night, but you think you can stay awake for an hour or two?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I'll try. . . just stay away from boring topics that might put me to sleep."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "So no talking about politics, classical music, or any shows on UPN, got it."  
  
* * *  
  
PART 56  
  
* * *  
  
As they lay side by side in bed, Luke watched Lorelai's fingers explore the curves of his chest. She did it aimlessly, it was just something to keep her occupied - but she was oblivious to how much he loved it. Her touch - the simple action of her delicate hand running across his skin - always made a feeling of calmness run through his body.  
  
Luke watched her for a few seconds before he let out a content sigh and asked, "So, uh. . .did you have something in particular you wanted to talk about?"  
  
"No, not really," she replied with a shrug. "What about you? Anything on your mind?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Okay, well, staying up and talking for a few hours might be harder than I thought," Lorelai deduced.  
  
"I'm sure you'll think of something to babble about," Luke said.  
  
"Yeah, probably," she agreed. She thought for a moment, then said, "We could sit here and get mushy and sing Rod Stewart songs to each other all night."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "That's the best you could come up with? No, thank you."  
  
Lorelai made a fist like she was holding a microphone and began singing, "Have I told. . . you lately - "  
  
"Stop," he interrupted.  
  
" - that I love you?" Lorelai sang.  
  
"Enough."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "Fine, fine, no more singing." She leaned back against the headboard and stared pensively up at the ceiling. "Luke, do you think things'll be different when we're married?"  
  
"Like what things?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai turned to look at him and shrugged. "I don't know - sometimes people say that getting married changes a relationship."  
  
"How would things change?" Luke asked her. "I mean, besides your name and the fact that I'll be wearing a ring - an idea I'm still trying to get used to, by the way - I don't think things'll be any different from how they are now."  
  
"You think?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yeah. The only major difference is that when you start talking incessantly, I won't think to myself, 'Wow, my girlfriend never shuts up," Luke said. "Instead, I'll think to myself, 'Wow, my wife never shuts up.'"  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose and smacked him playfully on the stomach.  
  
Luke smiled, then took her hand and kissed the top of it. "Wait, I wasn't done - and instead of looking at you and thinking, 'Man, she looks nice in those tight jeans,' I'll be able to think, 'Man, my wife looks nice in those tight jeans.'"  
  
Lorelai giggled and leaned forward to kiss him. She smiled and said, "Much better." She kissed him again before she sat back up and leaned against the headboard. "So, things will be the same."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well, until we have a kid, anyway," Lorelai added. "Then, obviously, things will be different."  
  
"Yeah, of course," Luke replied. "But we're both ready for that change. . .we know things will be different, we're prepared to deal with it."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "And that'll be a good kind of different." She reached for his hand and laced her fingers through his. "That'll be like adding hot fudge and whipped cream to a bowl of ice cream, you know? It changes things, but in a good way."  
  
"Exactly the analogy I was thinking of," Luke said, rolling his eyes.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I thought so."  
  
He unlaced his fingers from hers and rested his hand on her knee. The warmth of his hand against her skin made her realize how cold she was, and she pulled the blanket up over her legs. He kept his hand under the blanket, and she smiled at him. "Don't go getting frisky under there."  
  
He smirked as his hand moved gently up and down her leg. "So. . . have you thought of any good honeymoon spots?"  
  
"Not really," Lorelai replied. "You?"  
  
"I've been thinking about it, but I haven't really come up with anyplace good yet," Luke replied.  
  
"It doesn't have to be fancy," Lorelai said. "I mean, the definition of a honeymoon is a vacation by two people who were recently wedded. Whether it's a two month excursion to Europe or two days at a hotel in Hartford, it's still a honeymoon. . .it really doesn't matter to me where we go."  
  
"Well, keep thinking about it and we'll try to pick someplace this week," Luke said as he pulled his hand out from underneath the blanket.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You know what would be cool? If we consummated the marriage at the same place we consummated the relationship."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm sure your mother would let us do that."  
  
Lorelai laughed and brought her hand to her ear, pretending that she was on the phone. In a deep voice, she said, "Hello, Emily? Yeah, this is Luke. I was wondering if it'd be okay if we came over after the wedding and used Lorelai's old bedroom to have sex. . .you know, like that time we broke into your house while you were away." Lorelai paused a moment as if waiting for a response, then she gasped. "No, you cannot watch!" She pretended to hang up the phone on the bed.  
  
Luke smiled and shook his head slightly. "Okay, that's one conversation I can guarantee will never happen."  
  
Lorelai shuddered. "Ew, now I have this image of my mom poking her head through the door and commenting on our sexual positions."  
  
"You're the one that brought the scenario up," Luke reminded her as he pulled the blanket up over his legs.  
  
"I know, I know, it's my fault," Lorelai replied, waving him off. "New topic, quick!"  
  
Luke yawned. "Let's talk about going to sleep."  
  
"No, not yet, come on," Lorelai whined. She patted him on the chest and said, "Ooh, I know! Let's play 'What would you do?'"  
  
"No, thank you." Luke rolled his eyes. "That game gets annoying."  
  
"Come on, just for a few minutes," Lorelai begged. "Please, pretty please?" She frowned and added, "I love you."  
  
Luke sighed. "Fine."  
  
Lorelai smiled and sat up straight. "Okay. What would you do if. . .you came home one day and found out that I had bought a puppy?"  
  
"Uh, I'd give you ten minutes to take it back to the store," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "A cute, furry, adorable little chocolate Labrador puppy named Brownie?"  
  
"Back to the store," Luke repeated sternly.  
  
"Aw, poor Brownie," Lorelai said, shaking her head sadly. She patted Luke on the shoulder. "Your turn."  
  
Luke sighed. "Uh, what would you do if. . ." He gestured aimlessly with his hands as he tried to think of a question. "I don't know, I'm not good at thinking up questions."  
  
"Sure you are," Lorelai encouraged him. "Just try to come up with anything, it doesn't have to make sense."  
  
Luke thought for a moment, then smirked. "What would you do if I refused to marry you until you gave up coffee?"  
  
Lorelai smiled slyly. "Easy - I'd secretly hypnotize you into thinking that coffee was actually water so that every time I was drinking coffee you'd think it was water, thus believing that I had given up coffee for good."  
  
"Very imaginative," Luke commented.  
  
"Thank you." Lorelai smiled. "My turn. What would you do if I refused to sleep with you from now until we were married?"  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "Well, uh, then it'd be my turn to secretly hypnotize you into . . ." His voice trailed off as he gestured to her.  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Being your love slave?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Well, if you wanna put it that way, then sure."  
  
Lorelai laughed. "Nice. You know, it's cool how we suddenly have these hypnotic powers."  
  
"Yeah, they come in handy," Luke agreed.  
  
Lorelai smiled and nudged his arm. "Okay, your turn."  
  
Luke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "What would you do if . . .I told you that I'm already tired of playing this stupid game?"  
  
"I'd pretend to be deeply offended, and then tell you to come up with a better conversation topic," Lorelai replied.  
  
Luke slid his body down so his head was on his pillow, and he rolled onto his side. "I'll sleep on it and get back to you."  
  
Lorelai frowned and poked him in the back a few times. "You're really going to bed?"  
  
"Yes, now stop poking me," he grumbled.  
  
"No goodnight kiss?" Lorelai asked, leaning over his body. Luke lifted his head slightly and kissed her, then resumed his sleeping position as Lorelai climbed out of the bed. "I'm not tired yet, I'll be downstairs."  
  
"Okay," he replied. "Can you hit the light?"  
  
Lorelai turned out the light before she walked out of the bedroom and pulled the door closed behind her.  
  
* * *  
  
The next afternoon, Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner. After scanning the seating area and not seeing Luke, they walked to the counter and sat down. "Luuuuuke," Lorelai called toward the kitchen.  
  
Rory nudged her. "Mom, shh, people are eating."  
  
Lorelai snickered. "So?"  
  
"So they don't need to hear you screaming in the background," Rory told her. "They want to enjoy a nice peaceful meal."  
  
"Oh." Lorelai nodded understandingly, then turned toward the kitchen and called, "Luke, come out here, I need to talk to you!"  
  
Rory rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Okay, I guess I'm just talking to myself here."  
  
"Luke, can you hear me?" Lorelai called.  
  
Luke walked out of the kitchen with a dishtowel draped over his shoulder. He gave her an annoyed scowl. "Yes, I can hear you. Everyone in Connecticut can hear you. What's your problem?" He nodded toward Rory. "Hi Rory."  
  
Rory smiled. "Hey Luke. I tried to make her stop yelling."  
  
"I appreciate that," he replied.  
  
"Did you ask Jess yet?" Lorelai asked him.  
  
"Not yet," he replied. "I'll do it later."  
  
Lorelai shook her finger at him. "Okay, don't forget." She pulled a folded up piece of paper out of her purse and handed it to him. "I got this from Taylor."  
  
"What did you do to him now?" Luke asked. "Is this the form declaring your banishment from the market?"  
  
"Just open it," she instructed. Luke unfolded the paper and began reading through it. "Everything you wanted to know about getting a Connecticut marriage license," Lorelai announced.  
  
Luke nodded. "I see that. Why did Taylor have it?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I mentioned in casual conversation last week that we needed to get one of those marriage license things and he got this for me from the clerk's office."  
  
"Oh." Luke looked back down to the paper and read, "Both individuals must have a valid State of Connecticut blood test taken." He looked up and gave Lorelai a questioning look.  
  
"To check us both for syphilis," Lorelai informed him. "And to check me for some measles-type thing."  
  
Luke nodded and glanced back down at the paper. "Both parties must apply in person to the town clerk. . .blah blah blah. . .bring the date of the marriage, names, address, telephone number. . .blah blah blah. . . .thirty dollars for the cost of the marriage license. . .blah blah blah. . ." He shrugged and handed it back to Lorelai. "So, I guess we both have to get blood tests."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yup. We'll have to call on Monday and make appointments. Taylor gave me some forms that have to be filled out, and he said it'll take about a week for them to be approved, so we have to get on it as soon as we can."  
  
"Right, we should - " Luke was interrupted by the phone ringing behind him. "Hold on a second." He walked over to the phone and answered it, "Luke's. . . oh, hey. . .Nah, it's not too busy right now, don't worry about it. . ." Luke leaned against the doorframe, and Lorelai and Rory listened on. "Tonight? No, I don't think so. . .hold on." Luke covered the receiver and nodded toward Lorelai. "Hey, we didn't have any plans tonight, did we?"  
  
"Yeah, we were gonna go into the bathroom and turn out the lights and say Bloody Mary thirteen times to see if we can summon a ghost," Lorelai replied.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Besides that?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Nope."  
  
Luke brought the phone back up to his ear. "Yeah, I'm free. . . okay. . . six o'clock. . . I'll be there. . .see you later." Luke hung up the phone, then walked back over to Lorelai. "I'm meeting up with John tonight."  
  
"Cool," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Who's John?" Rory asked.  
  
"A friend," Luke replied.  
  
"Luke's lover," Lorelai said. "We're in a very open relationship. We're both free to date other men."  
  
Luke shot Lorelai an annoyed look, then turned to Rory. "John's just a friend from high school."  
  
"They met in the shower after gym class one day," Lorelai said. "Apparently, one of them dropped the soap and got more than he bargained for when he bent over to pick it up. They've been hiding their relationship ever since."  
  
Rory smacked Lorelai on the arm. "Ew, gross, Mom!" she exclaimed, making a face. "Luke, make her stop."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes at Lorelai. "Will you knock it off?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry," Lorelai said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Was I not supposed to tell her?"  
  
"I don't know," Luke said. "Am I not supposed to tell her that you have a recurring dream about dating the guy from - "  
  
"Stop, don't say it!" Lorelai interrupted loudly.  
  
". . . Saved by the Bell?" Luke finished.  
  
Lorelai gasped and slapped her palm on the counter. "Not fair! I was only joking around, I didn't tell her any real secrets!"  
  
Luke smirked and shrugged. "Oops, sorry."  
  
Rory laughed and nudged Lorelai with her elbow. "Oh my God! Which guy? Zack? Slater?"  
  
Lorelai stood up and glanced at her watch. "Wow, look at the time." She grabbed her purse. "We better get home in case some Jehovah's Witnesses decide to come by."  
  
"Not Screech!" Rory exclaimed with a laugh. "Oh my God, please tell me it's not Screech." As Lorelai started walking to the door, Rory turned to Luke and asked, "It's Screech, isn't it?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "I don't know his name, but it's apparently some older bald guy."  
  
Rory's eye widened, and she turned around and gasped. "Oh my God, Mr. Belding!" she exclaimed. "You have dreams about Mr. Belding?" Lorelai ignored her and walked out the door, and Rory laughed as she jumped off the stool. "Bye Luke. Thanks for the great mocking material."  
  
Luke smiled. "You're welcome." As Rory walked across the diner and rushed out the door, Luke walked to the kitchen doorway and called, "Caesar, I'm going upstairs for a few minutes."  
  
Luke climbed the staircase and walked down the hallway to Jess' apartment. He was about to turn the knob, then thought better of it and knocked on the glass. "Jess, it's me."  
  
"Wait a second, I have to hide the drugs and the hookers," Jess' voice called from inside the apartment.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Jess, come on."  
  
"It's open," he called back.  
  
Luke walked into the apartment. Jess was lying on the bed reading a book, and he lowered it to look up at Luke. "Time for the weekly surveillance?" Jess asked. "How's it look?"  
  
Luke looked down at the clothes and books strewn across the floor. "Better than last week," he observed.  
  
Jess smirked and went back to reading his book. Luke shoved his hands into his pockets. "So, listen, I wanted to talk to you about something."  
  
Jess sighed and lowered the book again. "What?"  
  
"Uh, Lorelai and I set a date for the wedding," Luke told him.  
  
"Good for you."  
  
"It's September first," Luke added. "Of this year."  
  
Jess nodded. "Huh."  
  
Luke glanced down at the floor and shifted his feet uncomfortably. "And I. . .was sort of thinking that maybe you'd be. . ." His voice trailed off.  
  
"Busy that day?" Jess offered.  
  
"No. . . in the wedding," Luke finished.  
  
Jess narrowed his eyes. "What?"  
  
"Yeah, Rory and Sookie are the bridesmaids, and I was thinking that you and my friend John could be the. . .whatever the hell the guys are called," Luke said, gesturing aimlessly with his hand as he searched for the word.  
  
"I don't know." Jess shrugged and shook his head slightly. "What would I have to do?"  
  
"You wouldn't have to do anything," Luke said. "You'd just wear a suit and stand up there during the ceremony. It's a pretty simple process. I mean, you were gonna come anyway, weren't you?"  
  
"Yeah, probably," he said slowly.  
  
"So. . .now instead of sitting and watching the ceremony, you stand up and watch the ceremony," Luke said with a shrug. "No big deal. What do you say?"  
  
Jess shrugged. "I guess I could do that."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Luke gave him a small smile. "Good. . . good. Thanks." Jess nodded and turned his attention back to his book. Luke took a few steps backward toward the door. "Okay, I'm gonna get back downstairs."  
  
"See ya," Jess said, not looking up from the book. Luke nodded and walked out of the apartment.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Luke walked into the house slightly after nine, and Rory and Dean were on the couch watching television. They both looked toward the door as Luke closed it. "Hey Luke," Rory said.  
  
Dean nodded toward Luke. "Hey."  
  
"Hey," Luke replied. He dropped his keys and wallet on the hallway table, then gestured toward the steps. "Upstairs?"  
  
"My room," Rory replied.  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes. "What?"  
  
"She's using the computer," Rory told him.  
  
"Oh, thanks." Luke turned and walked toward Rory's bedroom. He knocked lightly on the doorframe. "Hey."  
  
Lorelai, sitting at Rory's desk, turned around and smiled at him. "Hey you. Come in, sit down."  
  
He walked over and kissed her, then sat down on the edge of Rory's bed. "What are you doing? You hate using the computer."  
  
Lorelai glanced at the monitor. "I know, but I was checking out this wedding website Sookie told me about last week. It gives tips and suggestions about centerpieces and favors and stuff like that."  
  
"Find anything good?" he asked.  
  
"Actually, yes, I did," Lorelai said. "You know how Sookie had the Jordan almonds wrapped up as favors?" Luke nodded, and Lorelai continued, "Well, I was thinking we could get these little white heart-shaped boxes and fill them with a couple of heart-shaped chocolate truffles. What do you think of that?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "Sounds okay."  
  
"And we can write our names and the wedding date on the box in some sort of nice calligraphy or something," she added. "Wouldn't that be pretty?"  
  
"I guess so," Luke said, shrugging with uncertainty.  
  
Lorelai smiled and patted him on the arm. "Is the whole idea of making wedding favors too crafty for my manly man to even think about?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Definitely."  
  
Lorelai waved him off. "Fine, new subject. What did you and John do?"  
  
"Uh, not much," Luke replied. "Played a little basketball, watched some TV, just hung out."  
  
"Did you ask him about the wedding?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yup, he said yes," Luke said. "Him and Jess are both in."  
  
Lorelai smiled and clapped her hands together excitedly. "So that's it - we have our wedding party. Aren't you excited?"  
  
Luke smiled. "Yeah, it's pretty cool how it's all coming together."  
  
"Oh, and I asked Babette about using her yard and she's totally fine with it," Lorelai said. "I knew she would be, but I just wanted to check."  
  
"Right," Luke said.  
  
"And my mother called," Lorelai said with a small roll of her eyes. "She got in touch with her invitation guy. One day this week, after we have the guest list ready, we have to go to his studio in Hartford and pick out the invitations. Of course, my mom insisted on coming with us since she's paying, but hopefully it won't be too bad."  
  
Luke nodded. "Sounds good." He stood up and clasped his hands together. "So. . .things are moving along."  
  
Lorelai stood up and took a step toward him. "Yup." She leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He rested his hands on her waist as he eagerly returned the kiss. When she finally pulled away, she only had a moment to catch her breath before he pulled her closer and kissed her again.  
  
Lorelai smiled through it and said, "Let's go upstairs."  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "Rory and Dean are in the living room," he reminded her.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Well, we'll have to be very quiet, then. Come on, I love a challenge." Lorelai took his hand and led him out of the bedroom.  
  
* * *  
  
The next afternoon, Lorelai and Rory were sitting on the bench in the gazebo, each holding a takeout cup of coffee from the diner. As they talked, they both kept an eye on Sookie and Jackson's house, waiting for them to arrive home from their honeymoon.  
  
"We should've offered to pick them up," Rory said. "Then they wouldn't have had to leave their car at the airport all week."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Too late now." She took a sip of her coffee, then asked, "So what time did Dean leave last night?"  
  
"Um, right after the movie was over," Rory replied. "I think it was a little after ten."  
  
Lorelai gave her a sly smile and nudged her with her shoulder. "And you were actually watching the movie the whole time, right?"  
  
Rory gasped in mock offense. "Why, I'm shocked at what you're insinuating!" She rolled her eyes and added, "Besides, I'm not the one who woke up with a mark on her shoulder that looks remarkably like the same size as Luke's mouth."  
  
Lorelai glanced down at her shoulder and smirked. "Oh, you saw that, did ya? Maybe wearing a tank top wasn't the best way to hide it." She tried to cover the small bruise by draping her hair over her shoulder.  
  
Rory shook her head slightly and made a face of disgust. "Ugh, I can't believe my mother has a hickey. Really, isn't there a law that says you're supposed to hide that from your child?"  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes in thought, then shrugged. "You know, I'm not sure. . . we could ask Taylor later, though. I bet he has all the laws memorized."  
  
Rory took a sip of her coffee, then grimaced. "You know, as much as I love it, this isn't the most refreshing beverage when it's ninety-four degrees out."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Lorelai agreed. "We need to get some of those iced coffees or something."  
  
Rory fanned herself with her hand. "Man, it's hot out here. I feel like running through a sprinkler or jumping in a pool or something."  
  
"You wanna go wait for them in Luke's in the air conditioning?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Rory nodded. "Yeah." They stood up and walked down the steps of the gazebo, and headed toward the diner.  
  
* * *  
  
Ten minutes later, as they stared out the window of the diner, they saw a familiar SUV pass by, and they both jumped up from the table. They rushed out of the diner toward Sookie's house, reaching it just as Sookie and Jackson were climbing out of the car.  
  
Sookie giggled excitedly when she saw them. "Hey, there're my girls!" She opened her arms, and Rory and Lorelai both hugged her at the same time.  
  
Lorelai stepped back from the hug and smiled at Sookie. "So, how was it? You look great."  
  
"Yeah, I can't believe how tan you are!" Rory exclaimed. "You must've been outside the whole week."  
  
"Oh, we practically were. The weather was fabulous the entire time we were there," Sookie said.  
  
Jackson walked over to them and put his arm around Sookie. "Aloha. How are you guys?"  
  
"Hey Jackson." Lorelai smiled. "You're looking pretty tan yourself, there."  
  
Jackson looked down at his arms. "Yeah, I did get some color, didn't I?"  
  
"Yeah, you're giving the Baywatch babes a run for their money," Lorelai said, nodding enthusiastically. "So a good time was had by all?"  
  
"Definitely. It was incredible." Sookie gestured to the house. "Come on, you wanna come in?"  
  
Lorelai waved her off. "Oh, not right now. We just wanted to welcome you home, but we'll let you guys get settled in. I'm sure you're both tired from the flight."  
  
Jackson nodded. "Yeah, I'd say a nap was definitely in order."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "See, you guys go get some rest. Call us when you're ready to make us jealous with all the details of the trip."  
  
Jackson smiled. "We will."  
  
As Jackson walked to the trunk to get the suitcases, Rory hugged Sookie. "I'm glad you had a good honeymoon, Sookie."  
  
"Thanks, honey," Sookie replied. Rory pulled back and walked toward the back of the car to say goodbye to Jackson.  
  
Lorelai hugged Sookie tightly. "Me too, Sookie. I'm glad you had fun."  
  
"Thank you." As Sookie pulled back, she was smiling, but she soon narrowed her eyes with concern. "Ooh, what happened there?" she asked as she pointed to the small bruise on Lorelai's shoulder.  
  
Lorelai glanced down at it and giggled. "Foreplay." She glanced back at Rory, then turned to Sookie and lowered her voice. "There's a matching one on my thigh, and Luke has two on his stomach and chest."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Ah, gotcha. Been there, done that."  
  
"Yeah, you know how it is," Lorelai said. She rubbed Sookie's shoulder and smiled. "I'm so happy you're back."  
  
"Me too!" Sookie rubbed her hands together excitedly. She giggled and added, "Why are we talking like I've been gone for a year?"  
  
"Because it felt like a year in Stars Hollow time," Lorelai said, smiling. She gasped and added, "Ooh, guess what? We finally picked a date - September first is the wedding."  
  
Sookie's eyes widened. "September first? Wow, that's so soon."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yes, we know, so start planning the food."  
  
Sookie nodded. "Will do."  
  
As Rory walked back over to them, Jackson carried some suitcases toward the house. "Bye guys," he called over his shoulder.  
  
"Bye Jackson." Lorelai shoved her hands into her pockets and smiled at Sookie. "Okay, we'll let you go get settled in."  
  
"Okay," Sookie said. "See you girls later." She walked up the pathway to the house and followed Jackson inside.  
  
Lorelai and Rory turned around and started walking down the street. "Are we going back to the diner?" Rory asked.  
  
"Nope, video store," Lorelai told her.  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, they walked into the diner and up to Luke at the counter. He looked up from the order pad he was writing on as Lorelai held up a plastic bag. "What's that?" Luke asked.  
  
"Movies," Lorelai replied. She set the bag on the counter and started taking them out. "Three awesome movies - Betsy's Wedding, The Wedding Singer, and Father of the Bride."  
  
Luke smirked. "I'm sensing a theme."  
  
Lorelai smiled and pulled one last movie out of the bag. "And one purely for mocking purposes. . .The Wedding Planner."  
  
"But getting to watch Matthew McConaughey makes up for having to watch Jennifer Lopez," Rory pointed out.  
  
Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Definitely."  
  
"And we're going to watch all these in one day?" Luke asked.  
  
"No, they're for throughout the week," Lorelai told him.  
  
"Ah, right."  
  
Lorelai loaded the movies back into the bag. "Okay, we're going home. Me and Rory are gonna start working on the guest list, and then you can look it over and add to it later."  
  
"Or remove from it," Luke added.  
  
Lorelai smirked and took a few steps back from him. "Goodbye."  
  
"Bye Luke," Rory said.  
  
"See you later."  
  
* * *  
  
When Luke arrived home that night, Lorelai and Rory were outside on the front porch steps. Rory was writing in a notebook as Lorelai dictated what to write. He climbed out of his truck and walked over to them, and Lorelai stood up to greet him with a kiss. "Hey." She sat back down and patted the space next to her.  
  
"Hey." He exhaled slowly as he sat down next to her. "I'm beat. What are you doing out here?"  
  
Lorelai took the notebook from Rory and flipped back a few pages. "We've been working all night on making lists of what needs to be done for the wedding."  
  
"Like?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai looked down at the notebook. "Okay, well, we broke it down into levels of importance, so these are the things we need to do within the next few days - the guest list, the invitations, book the reverend, get the blood tests for the marriage license, pick a honeymoon destination, and get the dresses." She looked up. "Now, some progress was made because we started the guest list, so that's almost done. You just need to look it over, and then I can call my mom and tell her we're ready to meet with her invitation guy."  
  
Luke nodded. "Okay. Do you have it in there?" he asked, pointing to the notebook. Lorelai nodded and turned the page. She handed it to Luke, and he looked it over. After a few seconds of reading it, he rolled his eyes and looked up at her. "I think we can eliminate the Osbournes and the original cast of Three's Company from the list."  
  
Lorelai frowned and handed him the pen. "Fine, cross them off."  
  
Luke took the pen and obliged, then continued reading through the list. Halfway through, he raised his eyebrows with surprise. Lorelai noticed the reaction and glanced at Rory, who shrugged slightly. Lorelai turned back to Luke and cleared her throat. "Uh, something wrong?"  
  
Luke kept his eyes on the paper as he said, "No, not really. . .I just wasn't expecting to see Chris and Sherry on here."  
  
Lorelai bit her bottom lip nervously. "Is that okay?"  
  
"Yeah, it's okay," he replied.  
  
"I mean, Rory and I talked about it for awhile, about whether to invite them or not, and we finally thought that it'd be the nice thing to do," Lorelai explained. "And they might not even wanna come, who knows? But, we thought that extending an - "  
  
"Lorelai, it's fine," Luke interrupted as he looked up from the paper. "You can invite them if you want. I don't care."  
  
"Are you sure?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, only if you think that he's. . .ya know, not gonna cause any trouble or. . ."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "He won't."  
  
Luke stared at her dubiously for a moment, then looked back down at the paper. He read the last few names, then nodded. "This seems okay. How many people are on here? Did you count?"  
  
"Yeah, I think it was like twenty-seven or something like that," Lorelai said.  
  
Luke nodded, then wrote in a few more names at the end of the list. "Just added a couple friends," he said as he handed the list back to her.  
  
Lorelai looked down at it and nodded. "Okay, so, we just have to go through and write out all the addresses and then we'll be all set. We need to get the invitations out this week."  
  
"Can they make them that fast?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "This guy my mother knows is really good. She said it'll only take a day or two."  
  
"Okay." Luke stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "I'm going inside. You guys coming?"  
  
"I am," Rory replied, standing up.  
  
"Me too," Lorelai said. She stood up and they followed Luke into the house.  
  
* * * 


	12. Parts 57 to 58

"It's Right There - parts 57-58"  
  
* * *  
  
PART 57  
  
* * *  
  
They walked into the house, and Lorelai grabbed her address book from the hallway desk. "We should start writing out the addresses."  
  
"I'm gonna go take a shower first," Luke said.  
  
"Okay, but I'm gonna need the addresses of your friends," Lorelai told him. "I don't have them in my book."  
  
"Yeah, I'll get 'em later," he said as he climbed the staircase.  
  
Rory followed Lorelai into the kitchen and they sat down at the table. "Okay, do you wanna find the addresses in the book and read them aloud, or do you wanna write them down?" Rory asked.  
  
"I wanna sit here and watch you do both," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Forget it," Rory said. "One or the other."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose and thought for a moment. "Um, I'll read, you write."  
  
Rory tore out the guest list and handed it to her, then flipped to a blank page in the notebook. She picked up the pen and poised herself to write. "Okay, start."  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, Luke walked into the kitchen in a T-shirt and sweatpants, his hair wet from his shower. As he walked to the refrigerator, he asked, "How's it coming along?"  
  
"We're about a third of the way through," Rory replied.  
  
Luke grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then walked over to the table. "That's it? What's taking so long?"  
  
"It's a long process," Lorelai informed him.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "Because every time she turns to a new page, she finds someone else to invite."  
  
"Like?" Luke prompted.  
  
Lorelai glanced down at the paper in front of her. "Uh, you know, just . . .people."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and nodded. "Oh, good, people. Well, that makes me feel better, 'cause for a minute there I thought you might've been inviting farm animals."  
  
Lorelai snickered. "Duh, you can't invite farm animals to a wedding. They don't own the proper attire. Plus, they would ruin the whole 'wedding day' smell."  
  
"And instead of asking you to describe what a wedding day smells like, I'll just move on and ask who else you invited," Luke said. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Oh, just, you know . . .Harry, Andrew, Al, Mrs. - "  
  
Luke held up his hand. "Whoa, whoa - wait a second. Al who? Pancake World Al?"  
  
Lorelai slowly nodded.  
  
"She thinks if we don't invite him, he'll take it personally and get mad and then refuse to serve us anymore," Rory said.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I highly doubt that he would take it personally. Plus, he wouldn't come anyhow. He rarely ever leaves that restaurant."  
  
"Hey, it doesn't matter if he comes or not, but if we send him an invitation, then he can't say we didn't think about him, and thus, won't prohibit us from patronizing his establishment," Lorelai explained.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "How many people did you add?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, like seven."  
  
"I thought we were trying to keep it intimate," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "We are."  
  
"Okay, so when did Al become one of your intimate friends?" Luke asked.  
  
"When I gave him a lap dance in exchange for free coffee," Lorelai replied. Luke cocked his head to the side, and Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Point taken." She grabbed the pen from Rory and scribbled out a few names. "No more invites out of desperation or pity."  
  
"Good," he said.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay. . .so, you wanna go get me those addresses?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Your friends' addresses," Lorelai reminded him.  
  
"Oh, right, right. Yeah, I'll go get them now." Luke stood up and walked toward the living room.  
  
Lorelai turned to Rory and handed her back the pen. "Okay, ready for the next one?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Shoot."  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai and Rory walked into the inn, each carrying a takeout cup from the diner. As she placed her purse under the desk, Lorelai scanned the surrounding area, then checked her watch. "Huh, I wonder where Michel is," she said. "He's usually here by now."  
  
"Maybe he's helping one of the guests," Rory suggested with a shrug.  
  
"Hm, maybe," Lorelai agreed. She glanced down at the stack of mail waiting to be opened, then looked at Rory. "Hm, should we actually get started on doing work or should we go milk Sookie for non-dirty honeymoon details?"  
  
Rory smiled and rubbed her hands together. "Details."  
  
They set their cups on the desk, then walked across the lobby to the kitchen. As they walked through the door, they saw Michel standing near the coffee maker. "Oh, there you are. What are you doing in here?" Lorelai asked as they walked over to him.  
  
Michel finished pouring himself a cup of coffee, then turned around and held up the mug. "Figure it out," he said dryly.  
  
Lorelai took the coffee mug from him. "Aw, for me? Thanks, Michel." She took a sip, then nodded approvingly. "Mm, that's good stuff." She handed the cup back to him. "But I don't need it, I already have some out on the front desk."  
  
Michel scowled at her and huffed, "Why, why are you so annoying?" He turned around, set the mug on the counter, and began pouring himself another cup of coffee in a different mug.  
  
Lorelai shrugged at Rory. "That was a rhetorical question, right?"  
  
"I think so," Rory answered.  
  
Michel finished pouring his coffee, and with an annoyed look, walked past them and returned to the lobby.  
  
Rory looked around the kitchen. "Where's Sookie?"  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes and shrugged. "What, did I get here before you or something? How should I know?" They walked toward the center of the kitchen, and each of them grabbed a strawberry from a bowl of fruit on the counter.  
  
While they were chewing, Sookie walked out of the storage closet carrying a bag of sugar. Jackson followed behind her, wiping his hands on the side of his overalls. Sookie saw the girls and smiled. "Hey!"  
  
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Hm, what were you two doing in there? Oh, wait!" She covered Rory's ears with her hands. "What were you two doing in there?" she repeated with a smirk.  
  
Sookie rolled her eyes. "Putting away the crate of corn Jackson brought me, and getting this package of sugar." She set the sugar on the counter.  
  
"Oh." Lorelai removed her hands from Rory's ears. "Nothing dirty," she informed her.  
  
"I didn't think so," Rory replied. She smiled at Sookie and Jackson. "So, come on, tell us about the honeymoon!"  
  
Sookie grinned. "Oh, it was beautiful. Walking on the beach at sunset, drinking Mai Tais by the hotel pool, watching the natives do their tribal dances at the luaus. . ."  
  
"Sookie informing the natives that the technique they were using for roasting the pig was not the most efficient way," Jackson added with an eyeroll. "Can you believe that?"  
  
Lorelai and Rory both laughed, and Lorelai said, "Oh God, I can picture you running up to the pit, pushing the guy manning the spit-roast down on the ground, and throwing a bunch of herbs on the poor little piggy as you screamed, 'It tastes better like this!'"  
  
"Trust me, she tried to but I held her back," Jackson said.  
  
Sookie nudged Jackson with her elbow. "Hey, it's no worse than you arguing for ten minutes with that street vendor that his pineapples were overripe."  
  
"Ooh, was there a brawl?" Rory asked.  
  
"Hm, two guys in Hawaiian shirts and sandals arguing about fruit," Lorelai mused. "I bet Jerry Falwell would have some interesting things to say about that."  
  
Jackson checked his watch. "I have to get going." He kissed Sookie on the cheek. "Goodbye. Bye you two," he added to Rory and Lorelai.  
  
"Bye," Rory replied.  
  
"See ya," Lorelai said. As Jackson walked out the back door, Lorelai looked at Rory and said, "Yeah, we should get back to the lobby, especially since Michel's out there unsupervised with our coffee cups."  
  
"Oh, great," Rory said. "He might've tried to poison you and accidentally put it in mine."  
  
"Yeah, we'll get fresh coffee before we go out there," Lorelai said. She turned to Sookie. "We'll do lunch later and milk you for more details about life out of Connecticut."  
  
Sookie smiled. "Sounds good." She opened the bag of sugar while Lorelai and Rory walked over to the coffee maker, poured themselves some coffee, and walked into the lobby.  
  
* * *  
  
That night after work, Luke arrived home to a quiet house. He walked to the living room and found a sleeping Lorelai curled up in a ball on the couch. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and one arm was hanging over the side of the couch. A notebook was open on the floor next to her, and the cordless phone sat on top of it. Her hair was covering her face, and Luke brushed it aside as he sat down next to her.  
  
He sat there for a few minutes, enjoying the image of watching her sleep peacefully, before he began rubbing her thigh to wake her up. "Lorelai," he said softly. When she didn't respond to it, he said it slightly louder. "Lorelai."  
  
Lorelai groaned softly and opened her eyes. She slowly turned her head to look at Luke, and she muttered, "Not tonight, Luke. I have a headache." She closed her eyes and rested her head back against the arm of the couch.  
  
Luke grabbed her shoulder and shook her gently to wake her. "Lorelai, wake up."  
  
Lorelai slowly opened her eyes again, and she stared up at Luke. "What time is it?"  
  
He checked his watch. "Uh, almost ten."  
  
She stretched her legs out across his lap as she adjusted her body to face him better. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, then folded her hands in her lap. "How was work?"  
  
"Fine, it was fine," he replied. "What about you? I haven't seen you all day."  
  
Lorelai yawned again as she nodded. "I know, I was busy. I got a lot done, though. I made the appointment for my blood test, I'm going tomorrow morning. Did you call your doctor?"  
  
"Yup, I'm going on Wednesday," he replied.  
  
"Okay, good. I was gonna call and remind you but I forgot," Lorelai said. "Uh, I also called my mother and told her that the guest list was ready, so she called up her invitation guy and got us an appointment for tomorrow night at seven. Can you do that? And you better say yes because I'm not gonna meet with my mother all by myself."  
  
"Yeah, I can do that," Luke assured her.  
  
"Good. And. . .what else, what else?" She stared up at the ceiling for a moment. "Oh yeah, I booked the reverend."  
  
"Oh, good," Luke replied. "Which one?"  
  
"Reverend Nichols," she replied. "And I came up with some potential honeymoon spots, all within good driving distance." She reached down and picked up the notebook from the floor, then handed it to him.  
  
His eyes were immediately drawn to the side of the page, and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Uh, why is the margin filled with pictures of knives and. . ." He squinted down at the page. "What the hell is this - a noose?" he asked, pointing to a picture.  
  
Lorelai leaned forward to look at it. "Um, yeah. I was just doodling while I was on the phone with my mom," she informed him.  
  
Luke looked at her warily. "You need help."  
  
She pointed to the notebook. "Just read the list, please."  
  
He looked back down at the page and read through her list. When he was finished, he looked up and gave her an unimpressed shrug. "Uh, well. . ."  
  
Lorelai grabbed the notebook from him. "What's wrong with my ideas?"  
  
"The only ones on there that I like are Maine or Vermont," Luke told her. "Why would you even think that I'd have fun in New York City?"  
  
"Because even though you're not a city man, I know how much you love to stand around and watch me shop," she said. "And New York City would provide lots of opportunities for you to do just that."  
  
"Forget it." Luke rolled his eyes. "And you know I don't like gambling."  
  
"Okay, Atlantic City was a long shot," Lorelai admitted.  
  
"Very long. And all the others are kind of iffy, too," Luke said. "So it's down to Maine or Vermont. Wanna toss a coin?"  
  
"No. Out of those two, I'd rather go to Vermont," Lorelai said. She smiled and added, "And more specifically, anywhere in the immediate vicinity of Waterbury."  
  
"What's in Waterbury?" Luke asked curiously.  
  
Lorelai stood up from the couch and patted him on the head. "You'll see when we get there." She started walking toward the staircase.  
  
Luke stood up and followed her. "Lorelai." He grabbed her hand and turned her around to face him. "What is it? Something I'm gonna hate?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Probably, but we're doing it anyway."  
  
Luke folded his arms across his chest. "Doing what?"  
  
"Taking a tour of Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory," Lorelai announced with a grin.  
  
Luke groaned. "You've got to be kidding me."  
  
"It's one of Vermont's biggest tourist attractions," Lorelai told him.  
  
"So you picked Vermont as a honeymoon destination based on the sole intention of touring an ice cream factory?" Luke asked skeptically.  
  
Lorelai reached up and draped her arms over his shoulders. "No, I picked Vermont as a honeymoon destination with the sole intention of making love to you as much as possible in a state that smells like maple syrup." She pressed her lips against his and kissed him passionately, then pulled back and smiled. "The ice cream factory is just an added bonus."  
  
Luke kissed her again, then hugged her tightly. "You know you're crazy, right?"  
  
Lorelai smiled as she hugged him back. "Yes."  
  
"Just checking." Luke pulled back. "So, how many days - three, four?"  
  
"For what?" Lorelai asked. "The honeymoon?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Yeah." He thought for a moment, staring up at the ceiling pensively, then said, "We can leave the morning after the wedding, drive up there, stay a day or two, then drive back on Wednesday or Thursday."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good."  
  
"Okay," Luke said. "I'll take care of the honeymoon stuff. You have enough to worry about."  
  
"Near the factory?" she asked hopefully.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I'll look for something within a nice driving distance from the stupid factory, yes."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."  
  
* * *  
  
The next evening, Lorelai and Luke met Emily in the parking lot of the stationery store in Hartford. As they walked over to her, Lorelai saw Emily check her watch. Lorelai checked her own watch and announced, "It's only 6:57, Mom. You can't yell at us for making you wait when we weren't supposed to be here for three more minutes."  
  
Emily scoffed. "I was not going to yell at you. I was merely checking the time." She smiled at Luke. "Hello Luke. How are you?"  
  
Luke nodded. "Fine, Emily, and yourself?"  
  
"Very good, thank you," Emily replied. She looked at Lorelai. "You brought the guest list with addresses, right?"  
  
Lorelai reached into her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. "Yup, got it right here."  
  
Emily eyed the paper curiously. "It doesn't look very long."  
  
"That's probably because it isn't," Lorelai replied.  
  
Emily took the paper and read it over. "Lorelai, what kind of guest list is this?"  
  
Lorelai glanced at Luke questioningly, then turned back to Emily and shrugged. "Uh, one written in cursive?"  
  
Emily pursed her lips. "Lorelai, there's hardly anyone on here. You should not be able to fit all of your wedding guests into a closet."  
  
"Mom - " Lorelai started.  
  
"Where're all of our relatives?" Emily pressed. "I don't see any of them listed on here."  
  
"Oh, you mean the relatives that I see once every few years?" Lorelai asked. "The ones that I don't recognize unless they're wearing a nametag? Those relatives? You're right - why wouldn't I want practical-strangers helping me celebrate one of the biggest days of my life?" She slapped her forehead. "I must've forgotten to write them down. My mistake, sorry."  
  
"Regardless of how often you see them, they are still your relatives and they would want to be there," Emily insisted.  
  
"Mom, they don't even know me," Lorelai said loudly. "I told you before that this wedding would be small and quaint, with just close friends and family, and as difficult as it may be, you just have to deal with it. Now, come on, we're gonna be late for the appointment."  
  
Emily glanced from Lorelai to Luke, who was standing uncomfortably behind Lorelai with his hands shoved in his pockets. Emily pursed her lips and handed the list back to Lorelai with a sigh. "Fine, let's go in." As they started walking toward the door, Emily asked, "So what's the final count anyway?"  
  
"Um, I think it's around thirty-five," Lorelai said. "Give or take a few."  
  
"Thirty-five people at a wedding," Emily muttered, shaking her head. "Well, at least you can save money by not having a regular-sized cake. You can just have everyone split a donut." She pulled open the door and stepped inside, holding open the door for Lorelai.  
  
Lorelai grabbed hold of the door, then stopped walking as Emily continued inside. Lorelai let the door fall closed, then she turned around, a fake smile plastered on her face. She fingered the collar of Luke's shirt as she said, "Hey, uh, hon, I was thinking that maybe we could just forget the invitations and possibly get the hell out of this town before I kill myself." She looked up at him hopefully. "What do you say?"  
  
"I say, everything will be fine," Luke assured her. "We'll go in there, pick out invitations, and leave. It'll be quick and painless, I promise."  
  
Lorelai held out her arm to him, where a small bandage was covering the slight bruise from her blood test. "Can I at least rip off the Bandaid and tell her that I was shooting heroin earlier just to freak her out?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "No." As she began to pout, he took her hand and led her into the store.  
  
* * *  
  
The next afternoon, Lorelai and Rory were standing at the front desk of the inn. Lorelai was stuffing envelopes with reservation confirmations, then passing them to Rory, who sealed and addressed them. "So when are your invitations gonna be ready?" Rory asked.  
  
"Tomorrow," Lorelai replied. "My mom's gonna pick them up for me. They're printing up the envelopes, too, so when we get them, all we have to do is put stamps on them and mail them."  
  
"Nice and simple," Rory said.  
  
"Yup." Lorelai handed Rory the next envelope, then said, "So my mother said that your Grandpa can't stop talking about the tour."  
  
"Yeah, he sounded excited on the phone," Rory said.  
  
"When is it? Next Wednesday?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Next Thursday," Rory corrected her.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Right, Thursday, got it."  
  
Rory stared at her mother for a few seconds. "You know, Mom, you don't have to go if you don't have time."  
  
Lorelai stopped what she was doing and looked at Rory. "You don't want me to go?" she asked, slightly disappointed.  
  
"No, of course I want you to go," Rory insisted. "But I know you're swamped with doing the wedding plans, and having to do this tour thing right in the middle of all that probably isn't . . . something you need to worry about right now."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, I know the wedding's been taking up a lot of my time lately, but - "  
  
"We can always go on another tour after the wedding," Rory interrupted.  
  
"No, honey, I wanna go on the first one with you," Lorelai said. "Just because things are hectic in my life right now doesn't mean the lives of everyone around me should stop. I will be coming with you and Grandpa next week, end of story."  
  
Rory smiled and nodded. "Okay, good." Lorelai handed her the next envelope, and she addressed it. "So tonight should be fun. . .dress shopping."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah. I'm glad I put those three dresses on reserve the last time we went there with Sookie. That should make things much easier."  
  
"Yeah, but you didn't try them on," Rory reminded her. "So you might get there and try them on and realize that they're not as nice on you as they were on the hanger. Or maybe your taste has changed in the past few weeks and you'll realize that you don't like the style of those dresses anymore."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Hi, let's take the negativity, attach it to an anchor, then throw it out into the lake, okay?"  
  
"I'm just being realistic. You can't say for sure that one of those dresses is definitely going to be the one that you pick," Rory pointed out. "Wedding dress shopping is not a simple process. You may have to do some more looking."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Yes, well, we'll just have to wait and see what happens tonight."  
  
Rory nodded. "And the bridesmaid dresses. . ."  
  
"Are totally up to you and Sookie," Lorelai said, raising her hands innocently. "You guys can wear whatever the heck you want. They don't even have to match each other. It can be a dress you already have or a brand new one - whatever you want is fine with me."  
  
Rory nodded. "Sounds good."  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai and Rory were in the dressing room of the bridal shop. Lorelai pulled on the first of the three reserved dresses and Rory zipped it up for her.  
  
Lorelai stepped back and looked at it in the mirror, and her eyes widened. "Oh my God. Is that me or the dress?" She put her hands on her stomach and tried to push down the fabric.  
  
"It's the dress," Rory said. "It's definitely the dress."  
  
"I've heard that cameras add ten pounds, but I didn't think wedding dresses did, too," Lorelai said, making a face. "Ugh, I look gross in this one. Take it off."  
  
Rory unzipped the dress, and Lorelai let it fall to the floor. As Rory hung it back on the hanger, she asked, "Which one next? The strapless one or the sleeveless one?"  
  
Lorelai bit her bottom lip pensively as she stared at the two dresses hanging on the door. "Hm, neither."  
  
Rory turned around and raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean, neither?"  
  
Lorelai put her hands on Rory's shoulders. "Do me a favor - run out there and ask the lady at the desk if I can try on the one from the front window. The one with the spaghetti straps and the scoop neck."  
  
Rory smiled. "The satin one with the embroidered flowers?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "It caught my eye when we came in."  
  
"Mine, too," Rory told her. "I'll go get it."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks." Rory slipped out of the dressing room, and Lorelai locked the door behind her. She ran her fingers through her hair as she sat down on the bench in the corner. She patted her knees aimlessly and started humming as she waited for Rory to return.  
  
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. "Mom, it's me," Rory said. Lorelai stood up and opened the door, and Rory walked in with the dress. "Victory."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Great. What took so long?"  
  
"We had to take it off the mannequin," Rory said.  
  
"Right. Okay, let's try it on," Lorelai said. Rory helped her step into the dress, and Lorelai closed her eyes as Rory zipped it up. "Okay, before I look in the mirror, tell me - am I going to wanna cry when I see myself?" Her eyes still closed, she turned around to face Rory.  
  
Rory's eyes widened as she eyed the dress up and down. "Oh my God."  
  
Lorelai opened her eyes. "What? What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.  
  
Rory shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. Turn around." She pointed to the mirror. "Just look."  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath and slowly turned around to face the mirror. Rory stepped up behind her, and as a slow smile appeared on Lorelai's face, Rory smiled and nodded. "This is it."  
  
Lorelai turned to the side and looked at herself from another angle. She ran her hands down the front of the dress, letting her fingers outline the delicate embroidery of the bodice. The stems of the embroidered flowers trailed off at the waist, providing a subtle transition to the smooth satin skirt of the dress.  
  
Lorelai let out a small gasp and placed a hand on the center of her chest. "Wow." She felt tears forming in her eyes as she turned to Rory. "This is definitely the one."  
  
Rory nodded in agreement. "You look beautiful, Mom. It's perfect."  
  
Lorelai reached out and hugged Rory as she felt a few tears run down her cheeks. She sniffled, then let out a small laugh. "You know, Sookie cried when she found her perfect dress, and now. . .here I am, doing the same thing."  
  
"Because it's a happy moment," Rory said, hugging her mom tighter.  
  
Lorelai pulled back and wiped her tears. She took a deep breath, then looked in the mirror again. "Oh my God, I love it."  
  
"Does it feel okay?" Rory asked. "It looks like it fits perfectly."  
  
Lorelai nodded. "It does. I don't think anything needs to be altered." She ran her hands over the spaghetti straps. "Straps feel good." She moved her hands down to her chest. "Chest feels good." She brought her hands down to her stomach. "Waist feels good. It all feels good."  
  
"And it all looks good," Rory added.  
  
"Okay, now do me a favor and see how the price looks," Lorelai said, biting her thumbnail nervously. "Tell me that looks good, too."  
  
Rory looked at the tag tied to the zipper, then exhaled slowly. "Okay, well, the good news is that it's on sale."  
  
"What's the bad news?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"That even while it's on sale, it's almost six hundred dollars," Rory said.  
  
"Oh," Lorelai said, surprised. "That's actually lower than I thought you were gonna say."  
  
"So you're gonna get it?" Rory asked. Lorelai nodded, and Rory smiled. "Good. Take it off, let's go buy it."  
  
"Wait, let's buy shoes and a headpiece while we're here, and get it all out of the way," Lorelai said. "That way we can make sure it all goes with the dress."  
  
"Good idea. Tiara or veil this time?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I'm not sure. We'll have to see what looks good with it."  
  
Rory nodded. "Okay. Let's go look."  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai and Rory pulled up to their house and saw Luke's truck out front. "Shoot, why is he here?" Lorelai whined.  
  
"Because he lives here, Mom," Rory reminded her.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "How are we going to get the dress to your room without him seeing? I don't want him to know that it's here." She paused, then shrugged and said, "We're gonna have to sneak it in. See if you can shove it under your shirt without it looking like there's anything under there."  
  
Rory raised her eyebrows. "Okay, one, that's impossible, and two, maybe he's upstairs and we won't need to sneak it in."  
  
Lorelai pointed up to her bedroom window. "The lights are off."  
  
"So maybe he's sleeping already," Rory suggested.  
  
"Or maybe he's in the living room waiting for us to walk in with the dress and he's going to grab it and push us out of the way so he can get a peek at it," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt it. What's the big deal anyway? He knows you went dress shopping, he's gonna expect you to walk in with a dress. What, are you gonna lie to him and say we didn't get one?"  
  
"No, I'm gonna tell him we got a dress but that I'm storing it at Sookie's house," Lorelai said.  
  
"So, why don't we just take it to Sookie's?" Rory asked. "Or, better yet, to Babette's?"  
  
"Because it's late, I don't wanna bother them," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Then let's just leave it in the car," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai gasped. "Rory, we are not leaving seven hundred dollars worth of bridal wear in the car for someone to just come along and steal!"  
  
"Mom, this is Stars Hollow," Rory reminded her. "People don't steal here."  
  
"Yes, well, there's a first time for everything," Lorelai said. She took a deep breath. "Okay, this is what we'll do. I'll go in, and if he's downstairs, I'll get him to come upstairs with me, and when we get up there, I'll give you a signal, and that's when you bring the stuff in and hide it in your closet, okay?"  
  
Rory sighed. "What's the signal?"  
  
Lorelai thought for a moment, then glanced toward her bedroom window. "Ooh, I'll turn my bedroom light on and off a couple of times."  
  
"Okay, fine, just hurry up," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai climbed out of the car and walked to the house. As she stepped through the front door, she called, "Luke, I'm home!" She set her purse and keys on the bench in the entryway, then walked into the living room. "Luke!"  
  
"Upstairs," he said from the top of the steps.  
  
He started to walk down, and Lorelai rushed over to the staircase and started walking up. "Where ya going?" she asked anxiously. "Let's stay upstairs."  
  
"I just did some laundry, now I'm gonna get a snack," Luke said.  
  
"Oh, well, uh. . . can't you do that in a little bit?" Lorelai asked. "I want you to help me do something first."  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
Lorelai glanced down at the floor for a second as she thought of what to say. When something finally popped into her mind, she stepped up onto the same step as him and raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Take a shower."  
  
"What?"  
  
Lorelai grabbed his hand. "Come on, take a shower with me. We haven't done that in forever."  
  
"We did it last week," he reminded her.  
  
"Well, it feels like it's been forever," Lorelai said. She pouted and said, "Please, please, please!"  
  
"Can't we do that after I eat?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "I might not be in the mood by the time you're done eating."  
  
Luke let out a small laugh. "I'm not cooking a turkey dinner, Lorelai," he said. "I'm only getting an apple. It'll be five minutes." He walked toward the kitchen, and Lorelai sighed as she reluctantly followed him. "Where's Rory?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, uh, she's . . . out taking a walk," Lorelai said quickly. "You know, after that long ride back from Hartford, she needed to stretch out her legs a little, so she's just out there. . .walking around. . ."  
  
Luke narrowed his eyes with suspicion, which he shrugged off as he grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the table. He took a bite as he sat down. "Did you get a dress?"  
  
Lorelai smiled as she sat down across from him. "Yes, I did."  
  
Luke smiled. "Yeah?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Mmhmm." She glanced down at the table as she added, "It's at Sookie's house."  
  
Luke took a bite of his apple. "Well, what's it look like?"  
  
Lorelai smirked. "I can't tell you, it's bad luck."  
  
"I'm not supposed to see it," Luke said. "That doesn't mean I can't hear about it."  
  
"Well, it's white," Lorelai said. "That's all you're getting from me."  
  
He took another bite of his apple and chewed it slowly, and Lorelai strummed her fingers on the table while she watched him. As he bit into it again, she asked, "What, are you trying to set a record as the slowest apple eater in the world? Some of us are in the mood here."  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, a crabby one."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "No, not a crabby one. An impatient 'I'm waiting to take a shower with my fiancé but he's taking too long' kind of mood. Now hurry the hell up, please!"  
  
Luke gave her an impressed nod. "Wow, crankiness and cursing - you sure know how to set a romantic tone for the evening."  
  
Lorelai laughed at his sarcasm, then she leaned forward across the table and whined, "Come on, I can't wait anymore! Just picture it - our wet bodies pressed up against each other, me holding onto the shower curtain rod while you run your hands all over my body. . .what more of an image do you need to get you in the mood?"  
  
Luke took one last bite of his apple before he stood up. "Let's go." She jumped up from the table as he tossed the apple into the garbage and started walking toward the living room.  
  
Lorelai followed him up the stairs, and as he walked to the bathroom, she said, "Hold on, I'm just gonna get my robe." She walked into the bedroom, flicked the lights on and off several times, then grabbed her robe from the closet and walked to the bathroom.  
  
Outside, Rory let out a sigh of relief as she saw the flickering lights in the bedroom. "Finally," she muttered. She climbed out of the Jeep, grabbed both the small bag of accessories and the garment bag containing the wedding dress, then walked toward the house. She brought them to her bedroom and set them on her bed, then cleared some space in the closet for them.  
  
* * *  
  
[Author's Note for Chapter 57:  
  
Okay, I don't know much about wedding dresses, so call me crazy, but I actually went to some online wedding dress places to look for a dress that I thought would be good for Lorelai - you know, so I could better describe it in the story. And this is kind of what I imagine the above chosen dress to look like, minus the little train in the back: http://www2.davidsbridal.com/bridalgowns_detail.jsp?stid=295&prodgroup=35  
  
Elegant and simple, yet not too simple. The embroidery detail is pretty, but not too gaudy. I don't know, I may be way off the mark but I think Lorelai just might go for it. Yes, I know, I'm clearly putting too much time into this fake wedding, lol.]  
  
* * *  
  
PART 58  
  
* * *  
  
The alarm clock went off at six the next morning, and Lorelai swatted at it until it stopped buzzing. She rolled onto her back and rubbed her eyes, then turned to look at Luke. He was on his side facing away from her, and she ran her hand over his bare back. "Luke."  
  
Luke opened his eyes slightly. "What?"  
  
"Time to get up," Lorelai said, stifling her yawn.  
  
"Yeah, I heard," he muttered. He rolled onto his back and yawned loudly as he rested his hands behind his head.  
  
They were both quiet for a few minutes as they adjusted to being awake, then Lorelai said, "Oh, did I mention I'm working late tonight?"  
  
"No," Luke replied.  
  
"Some accounting firm is having a business dinner, and it's a pretty large group so I told Michel I'd hang around and help out with things," Lorelai said. "I don't know how late I'll be."  
  
Luke nodded. "So what's on your agenda for today, wedding-wise?"  
  
"Well, let's see," Lorelai said. "My mom's gonna bring me the invitations, hopefully in time for me to get them out in the mail today. Ooh, which reminds me, I need to pick up some stamps on the way to work. Remind me before I leave."  
  
"Will do."  
  
Lorelai continued with her to-do list. "And I need to remind Sookie to get a couple of servers to help out with serving the food and cleaning up. I have to get in contact with the inn's usual DJ and book him. I have to get people to bring the tables and chairs and the dance floor over and set them up in the yard that morning. Oh, and the tent. . . we decided that we wanted a tent, right?"  
  
"Yeah, we want the tent," Luke confirmed.  
  
"Okay, so, all of the aforementioned duties, plus a few thousand more, need to be done today," Lorelai said with a sigh. "I now realize why people plan these things years in advance. I'm gonna have a heart attack soon." She snuggled up against him and rested her head on his chest.  
  
Luke brought his arms up around her and kissed the top of her head. He was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Do you wanna change the date of the wedding?"  
  
Surprised, Lorelai lifted her head to look at him. "No. Why, do you?"  
  
"No, but if you think we should, then. . . I'd rather postpone the wedding than see you have a stroke from the preparations."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "No, I'll be okay. It's just a lot more work than I realized, but I think I'll be able to get it all done."  
  
Luke stared at her, unconvinced. "You sure?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "I'm sure." She kissed him on the cheek, then started to climb out of the bed. Luke reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled her back toward him.  
  
She laughed as she fell back onto the bed. "Luke!" she giggled. She leaned back against her pillow as he rolled over on top of her, and she closed her eyes as he began kissing across her neck. As he ran his tongue across her soft skin, she wrinkled her nose and said, "You know, now my body's gonna smell like your morning breath."  
  
Luke pulled back from her and unbuttoned her pajama top to expose her chest. A surge of arousal rushed through her body as he ran the tip of his tongue over one of her breasts. She moaned at the contact, and he pulled back. "So, you want me to stop?" he asked nonchalantly. Lorelai smiled and quickly shook her head, and Luke smirked as he lowered his mouth back down to her chest.  
  
* * *  
  
That afternoon at the inn, Lorelai was in the dining room checking on the preparations for the upcoming business dinner when Michel walked up to her waving an envelope. "Do you know what this is?" Michel asked haughtily.  
  
"Uh, looks like an envelope," Lorelai said with a shrug. She made a few notes on her clipboard, then started walking toward the lobby.  
  
Michel followed behind her. "Yes, it is the check you were supposed to mail three days ago for the new China! I just found it under the front desk."  
  
Lorelai turned around and gasped. "Oh my God, I completely forgot!"  
  
"I was going to put it in the regular outgoing mail pile, but you insisted on taking it directly to the post office so it would get there sooner. A lot of good that did!" Michel huffed.  
  
"Michel, I'm sorry, I forgot," Lorelai said. "Calm down."  
  
"This needs to get to the office in Bridgeport by four o'clock today or they won't send the shipment out tomorrow," Michel reminded her. "And then they'll charge us a fee for not paying on time."  
  
Lorelai sighed loudly and took the envelope from him. "Okay, okay, I'll take care of it. I'll drive it down there myself, then come back and help you with the business dinner."  
  
"Fine." Michel checked his watch. "You better go now or you're not gonna make it."  
  
Lorelai handed him the clipboard. "Here, take this, I'll be back as soon as I can." Lorelai walked quickly across the lobby and grabbed her purse from the front desk. She walked toward the front door and stepped onto the porch just as Emily was walking up the steps carrying a box. Lorelai's eyes widened. "Mom!"  
  
Emily smiled. "Lorelai, perfect timing. I brought your invitations, and I checked them over, everything looks fine. They're all ready to be stamped and mailed out."  
  
"Oh, great," Lorelai said quickly, taking the box from Emily. "Thanks for bringing them by, Mom."  
  
"Don't you wanna look at them?" Emily asked.  
  
"I will later. I'm kind of swamped right now." Lorelai walked past Emily down the porch steps. "See you tomorrow night."  
  
Emily's eyes widened and she followed Lorelai. "Where are you going? You're being very rude. I drove all the way out here as a favor to you and - "  
  
Lorelai turned around and interrupted, "Mom, I know, and I really, really appreciate it, but I have to run an errand for work so I don't have time for wedding stuff right now." Lorelai held up the envelope. "I have to get this to Bridgeport by four, and it's now. . ." She looked down at her watch. ". . . 2:41, so as you can see, I'm kind of in a hurry."  
  
"Oh. . ."  
  
"Yeah, so I have to go," Lorelai said. "See you tomorrow night, Mom." She turned around and resumed walking toward the car.  
  
"But you should really get those invitations out in the mail today, Lorelai," Emily said, following behind her.  
  
"Mom, did you hear what I just said?" Lorelai glanced over her shoulder at Emily as she continued walking. "I don't have time for wedding stuff right now. In fact, the whole reason that I'm in a hurry is because I got caught up with doing wedding stuff at work the other day and completely forgot to take this letter to the post office, so the wedding stuff's gonna have to wait until the work stuff is done. I'm sorry if that hurts the wedding stuff's feelings, but it's gonna have to deal with it. And please don't give me your 'I told you a month was not enough time to plan a wedding' speech, I've heard it already."  
  
Emily walked faster to catch up to Lorelai. "Lorelai, I'm not doing anything right now. I can handle the invitations."  
  
Lorelai suddenly turned around, causing Emily to almost crash into her. "Whoa, sorry." She took a step back. "What'd you say?"  
  
"I said that I can handle the invitations," Emily repeated.  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "No 'I told you so'?"  
  
Emily shook her head. "No. Come on, you're too busy and I have some free time, let me help you."  
  
Lorelai was surprised, and stammered, "Uh. . .no, really. . .it's. . .I can just do it tomorrow."  
  
Emily exhaled loudly. "Lorelai, they really should get out in the mail as soon as possible, and I'm perfectly capable of stuffing envelopes and putting stamps on them."  
  
"You are?" Lorelai asked incredulously. "I'd think that that kind of manual labor would be beneath you."  
  
Emily rolled her eyes and reached for the box. "Just let me have them. I'll take care of them." Lorelai resisted at first, then allowed Emily to pull the box out of her hands. "Now, do you have stamps, or do you need me to pick some up?"  
  
"No, actually, I bought them this morning. They're in the car," Lorelai replied. She waved for Emily to follow her as she turned and walked over to the Jeep. She pulled open the driver's side door and leaned into the car to grab the stamps from the passenger seat. She turned and handed them to Emily. "Here you go. You sure you don't mind doing this, Mom? Because I can just - "  
  
"I don't mind," Emily interrupted. "Go run your errand."  
  
Lorelai gave her an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Mom."  
  
Emily took a few steps back from the Jeep and smiled. "You're welcome."  
  
Lorelai climbed into the Jeep, closed the door, and started the ignition. Emily started to walk away, but Lorelai suddenly opened the door and said, "Mom, hold on a second."  
  
Emily turned around and walked back to the Jeep. "Yes?"  
  
Lorelai pointed toward the box. "I wanna see them before I go."  
  
Emily smiled and opened the box, and Lorelai took out one of the invitations. She smiled as she read over it, and as she ran her finger over the embossed text, she said, "Wow, it's beautiful, huh?"  
  
"Yes, they're quite lovely," Emily agreed. Lorelai stared at it for a few more seconds before Emily said, "Uh, you'd better go, Lorelai."  
  
Lorelai glanced at her watch. "Ooh, shoot, you're right. Thanks." She smiled and held up the invitation. "I'm taking this with me."  
  
"Take it, there are plenty of extras," Emily said. "See you tomorrow."  
  
"Bye." Lorelai closed the door and put on her seatbelt as Emily walked away. Lorelai pulled out of the parking space, sped out of the lot, and began the forty minute drive to Bridgeport.  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, Lorelai had delivered the check and was sitting in front of a coffee shop in Bridgeport. She took a long sip of her coffee, then pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed the diner. As she listened to the ringing, she tapped her hands on the steering wheel impatiently and muttered, "Come on, answer the phone. . .it's the thing making noise on the wall. . . "  
  
After the fifth ring, a voice answered, "Luke's."  
  
Lorelai frowned when it wasn't the voice she was expecting. "Caesar, it's Lorelai - is Luke there?"  
  
"Uh, no, he had to run to the store," he replied. "Should I tell him to call you?"  
  
Disappointed, Lorelai sunk back down against her seat. "Oh, no thanks," she replied. "Just tell him I'll call back later."  
  
"Okay," he replied. "Bye."  
  
"Bye." Lorelai turned off the phone and dropped it onto the passenger seat, then started the car and headed back to the inn.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai arrived home slightly after eight. As she walked through the front door, she saw Luke sitting on the couch watching television. "Hey."  
  
Luke turned around and nodded toward her. "Hey."  
  
Lorelai kicked off her heels and dropped her purse and keys on the floor next to them. "Is Rory home?"  
  
"Nope, movies," Luke replied. She nodded and walked down the hall to the kitchen as Luke said, "Uh, Caesar said you were gonna call back. I was waiting for ya."  
  
"Yeah, well, I had other things to do," Lorelai snapped from the kitchen. She walked back to the living room with a beer, and she stopped at the stairway to take a long sip.  
  
It was obvious to Luke that she was in a mood, though he was uncertain of the reason behind it. "Uh, how was your day?" he asked hesitantly.  
  
Lorelai let out a laugh and shook her head. "Oh, well, it was just peachy. I had to drive down to Bridgeport just to deliver a stupid check that, had my mind not been focused on doing things for the wedding, I could've remembered to put in the mail three days ago."  
  
"Oh, you shouldn't do wedding stuff at work, then," Luke commented.  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "When the hell else am I gonna do it, Luke?"  
  
"At night, when you get home," he replied with a shrug.  
  
"All the places I need to call are usually closed by the time I get home," she retorted. "Not that you would know what any of those places are!"  
  
Luke stood up and walked over to her with his arms folded across his chest. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"  
  
Lorelai set her beer on the hall table, then mimicked his pose by folding her arms across her chest. "It means that I'm doing everything for this wedding!"  
  
"That's not true and you know it," Luke said sternly.  
  
"Oh yeah? What have you done to help?" she challenged him.  
  
Luke began ticking things off on his fingers. "I went to get a stupid blood test for the stupid marriage license. . . I drove to Hartford to help you pick out the invitations. . . and today I booked the hotel for the honeymoon!" Luke declared loudly. He rolled his eyes and added, "Which, you'll be happy to know, is fifteen minutes away from the stupid ice cream factory!"  
  
"Wow, you've done three things, Luke!" Lorelai yelled. "Out of a million things to do for this wedding, you've done three - leaving me with the other 999,997 things to do!  
  
"Well, then tell me what you need me to do and I'll do it!" Luke yelled, his face reddening with frustration.  
  
Lorelai clenched her fists together. "You know what needs to be done, Luke! There are lists and lists of things that need to be done - just pick something and do it!"  
  
"Fine, I will!" Luke announced loudly.  
  
"Good, 'cause I can't do everything by myself anymore!" Lorelai yelled. She stared at him for a few seconds, breathing heavily to control her emotions, then covered her face with her hands and sighed loudly. "I can't do everything by myself, Luke," she muttered softly, her voice quivering. "It's too much."  
  
The anger that had started to rise up in him disappeared as he stared at her. He frowned sympathetically, and scolded himself for not realizing earlier that the stress was getting to her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his chest. "Hey, come on. . . it'll be okay."  
  
Lorelai sniffled as she hugged him back and rested her head on the center of his chest. Her body relaxed against the strong arms wrapped around her, and she sighed softly.  
  
"Look, you need to take a break from the wedding stuff for a day or two," Luke said. "When's the last time we did anything fun?"  
  
Lorelai sniffled and muttered, "Um, I think it was this morning in bed. . .around 6:07."  
  
"No, I mean, when's the last time we actually went out and did something?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai lifted her head to look at him as she pondered. Finally, she shrugged and said, "I have no idea."  
  
"Yeah, me either," he replied. "So. . .Saturday night we'll go out and do something - dinner, movie, whatever you want. No worrying about wedding stuff, no talking about wedding stuff, just us hanging out."  
  
"But what about all the - "  
  
"And then," he interrupted. ". . .the next day, we'll sit down with all the wedding to-do lists and we'll divide up all the stuff that needs to be done so you're not stressing out and contemplating suicide every time you hear the word wedding." He leaned down and kissed her gently. "Okay?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay." She kissed him, then rested her head back against his chest. He began stroking her hair as she closed her eyes and inhaled the faint scent of cologne on his T-shirt.  
  
After a minute of silence, Lorelai opened her eyes and looked up at him. "It's really only fifteen minutes from the ice cream factory?"  
  
Luke smirked. "Yup."  
  
Lorelai grinned as her eyes widened with excitement. "Have I mentioned lately that I'm madly in love with you?"  
  
Luke let out a small laugh, then shook his head. "Not today."  
  
"Well, I am," she told him, nodding enthusiastically.  
  
Luke smiled and brushed her hair away from her face. "Back at ya."  
  
* * *  
  
On Saturday night, Lorelai was in the bathroom putting on her makeup while Rory leaned against the doorway and watched her. "I'm not sure what time we'll be home," Lorelai said.  
  
"Me either," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai leaned toward the mirror as she applied her lipstick. "You and Lane are just gonna scope out some malls?"  
  
"Yup," Rory replied. "We're gonna try to find dresses for the wedding."  
  
"Does her mom know where she's going?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"No, Lane told her that we were going to see Jesus Christ Superstar," Rory replied with a laugh.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Ah. . . and that they might be giving away dresses to some lucky audience members?"  
  
Rory shrugged. "I guess so."  
  
Lorelai applied her mascara, then stepped back from the mirror and checked herself over. She brushed some lint off of her black pants, then smoothed out the front of her red sleeveless shirt. She turned to Rory and wrinkled her nose. "Well?"  
  
"Looking good," Rory said.  
  
"Good enough that if you were a guy at a bar and you saw me in this outfit, you would try to pick me up?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Rory narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "Just curious."  
  
Rory folded her arms across her chest and eyed Lorelai's ensemble. "I'd have to say. . .probably not."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "It's because I'm not wearing a skirt, isn't it? I'm more pick-upable when I'm showing some leg, right?"  
  
"No, it's because you have a diamond on your hand that's screaming 'Don't come near me, I'm taken'," Rory said, gesturing to Lorelai's ring.  
  
"Oh." Lorelai glanced down at the ring, then brought it up to her ear and pretended to listen to it. "Oh yeah, it is screaming that." She paused a moment as if listening to it some more, then smiled. "Aw, thank you." She kissed the ring, then stuck her tongue out at Rory. "The ring said that if she was a guy in a bar, she would try to pick me up in this outfit."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes. "The ring's a suck-up."  
  
"Yeah, well, the ring is my new best friend," Lorelai said. She walked toward the bedroom, and as she passed the stairway, she called, "I'll be ready in an hour!"  
  
"You better be kidding!" Luke's voice yelled back.  
  
Lorelai smirked. "Boy, I love teasing him." She walked into the bedroom, and Rory followed behind her. Lorelai grabbed her purse from the bed and pulled out her wallet, then removed one of her credit cards and handed it to Rory. "Here you go."  
  
"Thanks," Rory replied. "Is there a spending cap?"  
  
"Yeah, ten bucks," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Okay, well, I guess we'll be looking for dresses at the dollar store," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "Good idea, then you can get ten of 'em. Can't ask for a better deal than that."  
  
* * *  
  
On Wednesday night, Lorelai arrived home from work, and she dropped her purse on the table by the door as she called, "Anyone home? I saw two cars out front, so I think you are. Unless you both went out for a walk, and thus I'm talking to myself right now."  
  
"We're in the kitchen," Rory's voice called.  
  
"Oh, good, I'm not talking to myself." Lorelai walked to the kitchen and found Luke and Rory sitting at the table. Luke had several envelopes in front of him, and Rory was writing in a notebook. "What're you guys doing?"  
  
"Opening the reply cards that came in," Rory replied.  
  
"And writing down who's coming and who's not," Luke added. "So far, everyone's coming."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Good. Where's the rest of the mail?"  
  
As Luke opened up the last envelope, he told her, "Next to the coffee maker." Lorelai walked over to the counter as Luke pulled out the reply card. "And we have a. . .yes for Kirk."  
  
As Rory wrote it down in the notebook, Lorelai grabbed an envelope from the mail pile and started opening it. She pulled out a letter and glanced over it. "Oh, hey, this is the form with my blood test results."  
  
Luke stood up and walked over to her. "Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yup." Lorelai read through it, then announced, "Everything's good."  
  
"Good," Luke replied. "I guess mine should be coming soon, too."  
  
"Yeah," Lorelai said. She stuck the letter back in the envelope and handed it to Luke. "Here, put this somewhere so we don't lose it."  
  
"I'll go put it in the desk." Luke walked out of the kitchen.  
  
Lorelai walked to the table and sat down next to Rory. "What's up? Ready for the tour tomorrow?"  
  
Rory smiled. "Yup, I've got my 'I look like a smart high school senior' outfit all picked out."  
  
"Oh, good," Lorelai said. "Later you can come upstairs and help me pick out my 'I look like the mother of a smart high school senior' outfit."  
  
"Yeah, to achieve that look, you'll wanna avoid the Powerpuff Girls T- shirt," Rory advised.  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Aw, man!" She took a grape from the fruit bowl and popped it in her mouth. "So what's the latest on my mother? First she was going, then she couldn't, then she was going again. What's the current status?"  
  
"I talked to Grandpa a little while ago, and he said she's going," Rory said. "They're gonna pick us up tomorrow at 9:45."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Oh, that'll be a fun car ride, the four of us all together in an enclosed space like that."  
  
"Okay, first, it's not that long of a ride, and secondly, you and them have been getting along fine lately," Rory pointed out.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."  
  
"And you can tell that Grandma loves that you're talking to her about the wedding and kind of letting her be involved," Rory added. "She likes being apart of things."  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, let's hope she doesn't get used to it."  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, as Richard drove his Jaguar down the street past the buildings of Yale University, Rory stared out the window at the sights. "Wow."  
  
"It's quite impressive, isn't it?" Richard asked.  
  
"The online campus tour does not do this place justice," Rory remarked. "It's beautiful. . .isn't it, Mom?"  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "And huge. . . you're gonna need to resurrect Lewis and Clark and have them help you get from class to class."  
  
"Oh, Rory's a fast leaner, I'm sure she'll have no trouble finding her way around," Emily remarked from the front seat.  
  
Richard found an empty parking meter and parked the car on the street, and the four of them climbed out. As Richard put change into the meter, Rory stared at the campus spread all around her. "God, this place is so . . ."  
  
"Impressive, beautiful, and huge," Lorelai replied quickly. "Yeah, we covered that ten seconds ago in the car, hon. Let's get going." She put her arm around Rory's shoulder, then glanced at Richard. "Where are we supposed to go, Dad?"  
  
"The Office of Undergraduate Admissions," Richard replied, checking his watch. "Ah, and we're right on time."  
  
"Well, lead the way," Lorelai announced. Richard and Emily began walking down the street, and Lorelai and Rory followed behind them.  
  
* * *  
  
Several hours later, Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner and sat down at an empty table, and Luke soon walked over to them. "Hey. How was the tour?"  
  
Rory smiled. "Great. We walked the campus, saw the different academic buildings, heard about Yale's history - did you know that it's over 300 years old?"  
  
"No, I didn't," Luke replied.  
  
"It is," Rory confirmed. "We didn't get to sit in on any classes, though, because there aren't any in session right now."  
  
"Not even summer classes?" Luke asked.  
  
"No, they ended already," Lorelai told him.  
  
"But they start in the beginning of September, so we're gonna go back sometime after that and go on another tour," Rory added. "Ooh, and check this out." She flipped open the Yale booklet she had brought with her. "Luke, did you know that the library holdings of Yale contain 10.7 million bound volumes?"  
  
Luke smirked and shook his head. "No, I did not know that."  
  
Rory smiled. "Well, now you do. And did you know that - "  
  
Lorelai grabbed the booklet from Rory, then turned to Luke. "And did you know that she read the entire booklet aloud on the way home and if I hear any more Yale facts today my brain is going to explode?"  
  
"Nope, I didn't know that either," Luke replied.  
  
"Well, now you do." Lorelai held the booklet toward him. "Hide this from Rory." Luke took it and handed it back to Rory, and Lorelai frowned at him. "Mean."  
  
"What do you guys want?" he asked. "Burgers?"  
  
"Yup," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "With onion rings."  
  
Luke walked away, and a few seconds later, Lane walked into the diner and sat down with them. "Hey, I saw you come in so I thought I'd find out how your tour went."  
  
Rory smiled. "Oh, it was great! Look at this." She flipped open the Yale booklet.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes and stood up. "I'll be right back, guys." She walked behind the counter and peeked through the kitchen doorway. She saw Luke standing at the sink washing his hands, and she walked over to him. "Hey."  
  
He glanced at her and smiled. "Hey." He turned off the water and grabbed a dishtowel, then leaned over and kissed her as he dried his hands. "What are you doing back here?"  
  
"Just visiting."  
  
"Oh, come out back." Luke started walking toward the back door, and she followed him into the back alley. "How was it with your parents all morning?"  
  
"Actually, not too bad," Lorelai said as she leaned against the side of the building. "My mom was bugging me about the wedding a little, but I told her if she stopped talking about it today, I'd talk about it tomorrow night at dinner." Lorelai smiled and added, "Speaking of tomorrow night. . . "  
  
Luke smirked. "What about it?"  
  
"What time are you leaving?"  
  
"John's picking me up at six," Luke replied.  
  
"How many other guys are going?"  
  
"Last I heard, five."  
  
"And you're just gonna do typical bachelor party type of things?" Lorelai asked. "Maybe do a little strip club hopping?"  
  
Luke shoved his hands into his pockets. "I told them I'd rather not. I think we're gonna stick to regular bars."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "Aw, Luke, you can't! I want you to have a really, really good time, and the only way to have a really, really good time is for you to ogle at naked women."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Please, you know I'm not into doing stuff like that."  
  
"No, I think that deep down you are, but you just don't want anyone to know it," Lorelai said. "I think the fact that you like watching the girls jumping on trampolines at the end of The Man Show is just a small indication that you're harboring a secret desire to go to a strip club, am I right?"  
  
"No, it's because of my secret love of trampolines," Luke said.  
  
Lorelai smiled and stepped toward him. "Come on, your future-wife is encouraging you to do something that very few other future-wives would encourage their future-husbands to do, and you're not even gonna take your future-wife up on it?"  
  
Luke stared at her for a moment as he tried to process her words, then he finally shook his head.  
  
"So you're perfectly content with the fact that my body is the only female nakedness you will see up close for the rest of your life?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Perfectly content," he confirmed. He leaned forward and pressed her back up against the side of the building as he kissed her.  
  
As he pulled back from her, she draped her arms over his shoulders and smiled. "Okay, I guess I can't argue with that." She shook her finger at him. "But I'm telling you, if you don't hit any strip clubs, your bachelor party's gonna sound boring when you tell people about it."  
  
"And who exactly am I going to be telling about it?" Luke asked.  
  
"Uh, me," she replied as if it was obvious.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I'll make up some stories to tell you, okay?"  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"What are you doing for your party? It's Saturday, right?"  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. Sookie was thinking about a karaoke place, but I'm not sure I'm prepared for the level of embarrassment that would bring."  
  
Luke smirked. "Well, get drunk enough so that you won't remember it."  
  
"Rory's gonna be there," Lorelai reminded him. "I can't get completely wasted in front of her. Slightly wasted, yes, but not completely. . .so I think we'll probably have to find something else to do." She pulled him close and kissed him, then said, "Okay, my stomach's growling. Time for you to make our burgers."  
  
* * *  
  
The next afternoon, Lorelai was at the front desk of the inn when the phone rang. "Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking," she answered.  
  
"Hey," Luke replied.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Hey. What's up?"  
  
"I just got my results back," Luke said. "They came to the apartment. I guess I forgot to change my address with the doctor's office."  
  
"Oh, well, change it next time," Lorelai said. "Everything's good, right? I mean, the results?"  
  
"Yup," he replied. "You wanna go get the marriage license tonight? You can come by after work and we can go to the clerk."  
  
Lorelai giggled. "You made a rhyme."  
  
Luke sighed. "Is that a yes?"  
  
Lorelai twirled her finger in her hair. "Yeah, I'll stop home and pick up my form, then I'll be there around five. Taylor said it'll only take like fifteen minutes, so we'll be done in plenty of time for you to get home and shower and stuff before John gets there."  
  
"Okay, sounds good," Luke replied. "See you later."  
  
"Bye."  
  
* * *  
  
That night, it was slightly after six o'clock when Rory arrived home from Lane's house to get ready for dinner. "Mom!" she called. "Are you almost ready to go?"  
  
"Uh, not quite!"  
  
Rory followed the sound of Lorelai's voice toward the kitchen, and glanced around questioningly. "Where are you?"  
  
"In here," Lorelai's voice came from Rory's bedroom.  
  
Rory walked over to the door, which was closed. "What are you doing in my room?"  
  
"Uh, you know, just . . .uh, well. . . hold on a second. I'll be right there."  
  
Rory stared expectantly at the door, and finally Lorelai opened it slightly. Rory pushed it open and stepped into the room, and a small smile appeared on her face. She tilted her head to the side and asked, "Mom. . .what are you doing?"  
  
Lorelai was standing near Rory's bed in her wedding dress, and she glanced down at the outfit. "Uh. . .just. . .you know, checking to make sure it still fits."  
  
Rory shook her head slightly and walked over to her. "Turn around, let me help you." Lorelai smiled and turned around, and Rory zipped up the dress. As Lorelai walked over to the mirror, Rory lay down on the bed and watched her.  
  
"What do you think? Still looks okay?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Yup, looks great," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai took a deep breath, then put her hand on her stomach. "I have this weird feeling in my stomach."  
  
"You're hungry," Rory said. "Your stomach knows we're supposed to be at Grandma's soon for dinner."  
  
Lorelai shook her head. "Nuh uh, it's not an 'I'm hungry' type of feeling, it's an 'I'm nervous' type of feeling."  
  
Rory's eyes widened and she sat up. "Uh oh."  
  
Lorelai scoffed. "It's not an 'uh oh.' Why would you think it would be an 'uh oh'?"  
  
"Because you're nervous about the wedding, and you do very crazy things when you get nervous around the time of a wedding," Rory said.  
  
"I didn't say that I'm specifically nervous about the wedding," Lorelai said.  
  
"Well, when you put on a wedding dress and say that it makes you nervous, what else am I supposed to deduce from that?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai folded her arms across her chest. "Well, you're not supposed to deduce that I'm gonna back out at the last minute, which is exactly what you're doing," Lorelai said pointedly.  
  
Rory glanced down at her comforter and muttered, "Sorry."  
  
Lorelai sighed as she walked over and sat next to Rory on the bed. "Listen to me, I'll admit that I'm nervous about the little things - you know, like tripping down the porch steps or spilling champagne on my dress, stuff like that. But not the actual idea of the wedding or the idea of marrying Luke." She paused a moment before she added, "Believe me, it's not gonna be like last time, okay?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Okay."  
  
Lorelai smiled and patted Rory on the leg. "Good." Her eyes widened and she said, "Ooh, I have an idea." She stood up and walked over to Rory's closet.  
  
"What are you doing?" Rory asked.  
  
"Well, we still have twenty minutes before we have to leave for dinner, so you have time to. . ." Lorelai pulled out Rory's sleeveless, cranberry- colored bridesmaid dress and smiled. "Play dress-up with me."  
  
Rory laughed. "No way."  
  
"Come on, please!" Lorelai begged. "Pretty please! I'll buy you lots of presents from the Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory gift shop!"  
  
Rory sighed and stood up from the bed. "Fine, but just for a few minutes."  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued. . . . 


	13. Part 59

"It's Right There - Part 59"  
  
* * *  
  
As Rory changed into her bridesmaid dress, Lorelai walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. She lingered by the couch for a moment before she walked over to the mantle and looked at the pictures that were displayed on it.  
  
Her eyes wandered over to the wall next to the side door, and she walked over to it. She stared up at the picture of her and Luke, the one taken just moments before he proposed, and she smiled to herself.  
  
Lorelai was still staring at it when Rory walked out of her bedroom and into the living room. "Okay, I'm wearing it, now what?"  
  
Startled, Lorelai jumped slightly. She turned around and smiled when she saw Rory in the dress. She clapped excitedly. "Aw, it looks so great, hon."  
  
Rory smiled and glanced down at it. "Thanks. So. . .what now?"  
  
Lorelai grinned as she walked over to the stereo. "Now we dance around like idiots."  
  
Rory folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the staircase railing. "I'll just watch you, thanks."  
  
"No, come on, it'll be fun. No one's here to make fun of us." Lorelai fiddled with the CD player until the song she wanted came on, and as Madonna started playing, she turned to Rory and smiled. "Vogue!"  
  
Rory, watching Lorelai attempt to dance, started laughing. Lorelai rushed over to her and grabbed her hand. "Come on!"  
  
Lorelai's energy rubbed off on her, and Rory began flailing her arms around aimlessly as she shimmied around the living room. "Oh my God, this totally stays between us," Rory said with a laugh.  
  
"Deal." Lorelai smiled as she twirled around the living room in her wedding dress.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Lorelai slowly opened her eyes and stared up at her bedroom ceiling. She let out a yawn as she turned to check the clock. 7:54. Deciding it was too early to get up on a Saturday, she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.  
  
Suddenly, she remembered that she had gone to bed alone last night, and her eyes opened again. She quickly glanced over to Luke's side of the bed, where he lay next to her asleep.  
  
She smiled and sat up, then tapped him on the back. "Luke," she said in a loud whisper. "Wake up." When he didn't respond, Lorelai put her hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. "Luuuuuke, come on, get up."  
  
Luke's eyes opened slightly and it took him a minute to realize whose voice had awoken him from his comfortable sleep. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand, then pulled the covers up tighter around him and muttered, "Go back to bed."  
  
"I wanna hear about your bachelor party," Lorelai said excitedly.  
  
"I'll tell you later," he mumbled groggily. "Go back to bed."  
  
Lorelai ignored him and pressed for details. "What time did you get home? Where'd you go? What'd you drink?"  
  
"Lorelai. . ."  
  
"Did you go to a strip club?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Luke sighed and rolled over to face her. "Geez, are you ever gonna stop talking?"  
  
"Yes, when you enlighten me with details."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes, then finally decided to talk just to shut her up. He exhaled loudly, then started to summarize his night. "First, we went to a Ravens game."  
  
"Cool. What's that - hockey?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Baseball," Luke corrected her. "Minor league baseball."  
  
"Ah, go on."  
  
"Then we went to a bar and had some drinks, then a bunch of us went back to John's house and hung out." Luke shrugged and added, "That's pretty much it."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You're purposely leaving out the strip club because you don't want me to know about it, right?"  
  
Luke paused a second as he glanced toward the window, then muttered a sheepish, "Yeah."  
  
Lorelai gasped and smacked him playfully on the stomach. "I knew it! I knew you'd go to one."  
  
Luke looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, you were right. We spent a few hours there. I learned all the girls' names, even got a few phone numbers. Oh, and at one point I was invited up on stage to dance with them, and I did it. It was pretty fun. I'm considering stripping as a viable second career option."  
  
Lorelai frowned at his sarcasm. "Aw, man, you were just kidding? No strip club?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "No strip club. Sorry to disappoint you. Now, if you don't mind. . ." He gestured to the pillow.  
  
Lorelai gestured for him to roll back over. "Yeah, yeah, go back to sleep." He rolled over and closed his eyes, and she lay back down on her pillow.  
  
She was quiet for a moment, then said, "Luke?"  
  
Luke groaned. "God - what now?"  
  
"Hey, now, don't be cranky," Lorelai warned him.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Her voice softened as she asked, "You had fun, right?"  
  
Luke turned his head to look back at her, and he nodded. "Yeah, I had fun."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Okay, good." Luke rolled toward her and kissed her on the cheek before he rolled back onto his side and closed his eyes.  
  
* * *  
  
That afternoon, Lorelai and Rory walked into the Independence Inn. Lorelai was carrying a large box, and as they walked up to the front desk, Michel narrowed his eyes at them curiously. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "You didn't say you were coming in today."  
  
Lorelai set the box on the desk. "That's because I know how much you love surprises."  
  
"Yes, now surprise me again by disappearing," Michel said dryly. "That is a surprise I'd love."  
  
Lorelai walked around to the other side of the desk. "Don't worry, we won't be here for long. I just wanna check on some things for the wedding, make sure everything's set. I wanna go through the list of servers and set-up guys and make sure we have enough people for everything." She tapped the box. "And these are the little white boxes for the favors. We're gonna store them here until we pick up the truffles later this week."  
  
Michel was staring down at the sheet of paper in front of him, only half listening to her. "Mmhmm."  
  
Lorelai turned to Rory. "Hon, can you take the box into my office? I'll be there in a second."  
  
Rory nodded. "Okay." She picked up the box from the desk and walked toward Lorelai's office.  
  
Lorelai picked up the phone and dialed the diner. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the desk as she listened to the ringing. Finally, Luke answered. "Luke's."  
  
"Hey," Lorelai replied.  
  
"Hey. Where are you?"  
  
"At the inn," Lorelai replied. "We'll be here for half an hour or so, then we're heading to that big party store in Hartford to pick up some decorations."  
  
"Decorations for what?"  
  
"Uh, that big party we're having next week called a wedding," Lorelai said. "Did you forget already?"  
  
"Slipped my mind. What are you gonna get?"  
  
"I don't know, maybe a couple of white bows for the yard, some pretty ribbon to drape over the railing, little things like that. We'll have to see what they have."  
  
"Yeah, well, don't get anything too. . ." Luke's voice trailed off.  
  
"Too what? Girly?" Lorelai suggested with a smile. "Should I see if they have wedding decorations with baseballs on them?"  
  
"Yeah, that'd be good."  
  
Michel walked behind her to grab the reservation book from the other side of the desk, and on his way back, he brushed up against Lorelai. She gasped loudly. "Luke, Michel just tried to pinch my butt."  
  
Michel turned to her with wide eyes. "I did not!"  
  
"I'm being sexually harassed!" Lorelai exclaimed.  
  
"She is lying!" Michel yelled toward the phone loud enough for Luke to hear him.  
  
"Oh my God! Luke, now he's gawking at me like I'm a piece of low-fat, low- calorie, low-cholesterol turkey!" Lorelai exclaimed.  
  
Michel slapped his palm on the desk. "Stop it, I am doing nothing!"  
  
On the other end of the phone, Luke let out a laugh. "Okay, leave the poor putz alone. I'll see you later."  
  
"Bye," Lorelai said. She hung up the phone and turned to Michel. "He's gonna let it slide this time, but he said if you try pulling that stuff when we're married, you're toast."  
  
Michel scowled at her and walked away, muttering, "I hate you."  
  
Lorelai smiled and walked to her office.  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, after Lorelai had checked on all that she needed to, she and Rory walked into the inn's kitchen to get coffee. Sookie was standing at the stove stirring a pot of soup, and she glanced over when she heard the door open. She smiled when she saw who it was. "Hey, you two."  
  
"Hey," Lorelai said as she walked toward Sookie.  
  
"Hey Sookie," Rory said. She walked over to the coffee maker and began pouring some coffee into a takeout cup.  
  
"What are you guys doing here?" Sookie asked.  
  
"Checking on wedding stuff," Lorelai replied. "You know, servers, DJ, photographer, stuff like that. We just picked up the boxes for the favors."  
  
Sookie frowned. "Are you sure you don't want me to make the truffles?"  
  
Lorelai smiled. "No, Sookie, I told you, you have too much to do this week. That's why we ordered them from the bakery."  
  
"I don't have too much to do," Sookie insisted.  
  
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You're making the wedding cake, you're making all the food for the rehearsal dinner, and you're helping make the food for the actual wedding - I think you've got enough to do."  
  
"I could've squeezed them in somewhere," Sookie muttered.  
  
"Yeah, well, this way you have time to breathe," Lorelai said, patting her on the shoulder.  
  
Rory walked over with two takeout cups and handed one to Lorelai. "Ready to go?"  
  
"Where are you off to?" Sookie asked.  
  
"To buy decorations for the wedding," Rory replied.  
  
"For the yard and inside the house," Lorelai added.  
  
"Did you guys pick out your rings?" Sookie asked.  
  
"Yeah, we did it a few weeks ago, don't you remember?" Lorelai asked. "I told you how he said he hopes his ring doesn't fall off when he's cooking and accidentally land in pancake batter or something."  
  
Sookie thought for a moment before she finally remembered, and she nodded. "Right, and you said you'd be more concerned about the batter."  
  
"Exactly. The ring's replaceable, but man. . .to see a perfectly good batch of batter wasted would be heartbreaking," Lorelai said, shaking her head sadly.  
  
Rory shot an amused look toward Lorelai. "Uh, okay, we should get going, Mom."  
  
"Yeah, going, right." Lorelai smiled at Sookie. "We'll see you tonight."  
  
Sookie giggled. "It's gonna be fun!"  
  
Rory smiled. "I'm bringing a video camera. Mom singing karaoke is something that I would like to relive over and over."  
  
Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Rory, then turned to Sookie. "How'd I let you talk me into this anyway?"  
  
Sookie giggled. "I gave you a choice between the karaoke bar or the country line dancing place, and you chose karaoke."  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Okay, in my next life, remind me not to let you be in charge of my bachelorette party."  
  
"Hey, even if you don't have fun singing, you'll have fun mocking the other people who are singing," Sookie pointed out.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Very true."  
  
Rory grabbed Lorelai's arm and pulled her toward the door. "We have to go. See you later Sookie."  
  
"Bye," Sookie called.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Lorelai stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. She grabbed another one and started toweling her hair as she walked out of the bathroom and headed to her bedroom. She stared into the closet, trying to find something to wear to the bachelorette party, when the phone rang.  
  
She wandered over to the nightstand and answered it. "Hello?"  
  
"Uh. . .Lor, hey," a voice replied softly.  
  
Surprised to hear his voice, Lorelai froze momentarily. She cleared her throat and said, "Chris. . . hi." Even though they'd made up since their argument, things were still slightly uncomfortable between them. Lorelai sat down on the bed. "What's up?"  
  
"Um. . .I wanted to talk to you about something," he said with slight hesitation.  
  
"Okay, shoot."  
  
"Well. . .it's about the wedding," Christopher said.  
  
Instinctively becoming defensive, Lorelai sat up straight. "What about it?" she asked indignantly.  
  
"Don't say it like that, it's nothing bad," Christopher said. "I'm not trying to start something here."  
  
Lorelai's voice softened. "Okay. . .what is it?"  
  
"Well. . .we got the invitation and. . ." Chris' voice trailed off.  
  
Lorelai waited for him to continue, and after several seconds of silence, she said, "Uh, Chris. . . and what?"  
  
Christopher sighed. "And I wanna be there, but I wanted to make sure it was okay."  
  
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Of course it's okay. I wouldn't have sent you an invitation if it wasn't."  
  
"Yeah, well, I thought it might be one of those things where you don't want someone to come, but you think that they won't, so you send them an invitation anyway just so you can say that you invited them," he explained.  
  
"Chris, I didn't - "  
  
"Because if that's what it is, then you can tell me," he said. "I'll totally understand. I'd rather you tell me that than for us to show up and have things be weird."  
  
"Chris, that's not it," Lorelai insisted. "I want you to be there, really."  
  
"You do?" Christopher sounded surprised.  
  
"Absolutely," Lorelai replied. "Chris, I said this last time we talked. . .I know I said a lot of things that . . . " She took a deep breath. "Well, just because we had that big blow up doesn't mean that I don't still. . .care about you. I mean, you and I, we have something special, you know?"  
  
"Yeah, I know," Christopher replied quietly.  
  
"And no matter what happens, no matter how much we scream at each other, or no matter that we're in love with other people - there's always gonna be . . .us. You and me, that 'teenage-love-that-we'll-always-remember' kind of thing, you know? So, I mean it. . .please come to the wedding."  
  
Christopher was silent for a moment, then said, "What about Luke?"  
  
"What about him?"  
  
"He's gonna be there."  
  
"Uh, yeah, he's playing sort of an integral role in the wedding," Lorelai agreed.  
  
"So. . .he and I didn't really end on good terms the last time we saw each other," Christopher reminded her.  
  
"So what? You can start over with new, fresh terms," Lorelai said.  
  
"I doubt that he wants me there."  
  
"He was a little surprised to see your name on the guest list after all that happened, but he said he was fine with it," Lorelai explained.  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"Absolutely," Lorelai said. "Plus, both of you will be so busy staring at me that you won't even notice each other. Trust me - I look amazing in my dress."  
  
Christopher let out a small laugh. "Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "Now, are you gonna take my word for it or are you gonna come see for yourself?"  
  
Christopher took a deep breath and he exhaled it slowly. "Okay."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "You'll come?"  
  
"Yeah, we'll come," Christopher replied.  
  
"Good. Thank you." Lorelai glanced at the clock. "Okay, I've got a bachelorette party to get ready for, so I better go."  
  
"Wait, one more thing," Christopher said.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Are you guys going on a honeymoon?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, Vermont," Lorelai replied. "Why?"  
  
"When are you leaving?" he asked.  
  
"Monday morning," she replied. "And we're coming back on Thursday. Why?"  
  
"Rory's not going, right?" Christopher asked.  
  
"No, she's not," Lorelai replied. "For the millionth time, why?"  
  
"Well, it's been awhile since she's visited, so that might be a good time. . .I mean, if she wants to. I don't know if she does, but. . ."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "I'll bring it up."  
  
"Okay, thanks," he replied.  
  
"I'll see you next week," Lorelai said.  
  
"Yup. Have fun tonight."  
  
"Thanks. Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Lorelai hung up the phone and walked over to the closet to find an outfit.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Luke was on the couch watching television when Lorelai and Rory walked through the front door. It was around 11:30, and when they saw him on the couch, Lorelai nudged Rory and said, "Aw, he was waiting up for us. How sweet."  
  
Luke turned off the television and he glanced over at them. "I was not. I was watching the game."  
  
Lorelai smirked as she walked to the couch. "Right. . .who plays sports this late at night?"  
  
"I don't know - maybe the teams on the West Coast?" Luke suggested.  
  
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Oh yeah." The girls sat down on either side of him, and Lorelai patted him on the knee. "Okay, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have some competition. There's a new man in my life."  
  
"Oh yeah? Who?" Luke asked.  
  
"Albert," Rory informed him.  
  
"And Albert is. . ." Luke prompted.  
  
"A waiter at the karaoke place. Oh my God, he was so funny, he had us cracking up all night long," Lorelai said with a laugh. "And when I told him we were there for my bachelorette party, he gave us free drinks."  
  
"And he told her that she was the most beautiful bride he's ever seen," Rory added.  
  
"And he got up on stage and sang 'Build Me Up, Buttercup' with me when my own daughter wouldn't," Lorelai said, shooting Rory a pointed look.  
  
Rory held up her hands innocently. "Hey, I sang 'Love Shack' and the Cheers theme song with you. That was enough duets for me."  
  
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "True - and I have to say, 'Love Shack' was my favorite one of the night. It's such a good karaoke song."  
  
"Definitely," Rory agreed.  
  
"So, you and Albert are dating now?" Luke asked.  
  
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. You don't mind, do you?"  
  
"But you can't tell Albert's boyfriend," Rory said.  
  
Luke turned to Rory. "Boyfriend?"  
  
Rory smiled. "Yup, Dominic. They've been together for two years."  
  
"Okay, I guess I don't have to feel threatened by Albert anymore," Luke said with a smirk.  
  
Lorelai smiled and pinched his cheek. "Aw, you were getting jealous, how cute."  
  
"Enough." Luke pushed her hand away. "So, you had fun?"  
  
"Lots of fun," Lorelai said, nodding enthusiastically.  
  
"Yup, it was great," Rory said. "Miss Patty and Babette singing 'It's Raining Men' was one of the most entertaining things I've ever seen."  
  
Lorelai laughed and nodded in agreement. "They should definitely take that show on the road."  
  
Luke smiled. "I kinda wish I'd seen that."  
  
"I bet if we ask, they'll do it at the wedding," Lorelai suggested.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't wanna see it that badly."  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued. . .  
  
Author's Note:  
  
I know this part is shorter than usual, but I was working so much on editing the story and getting it back up on the site that I didn't have a lot of extra time to actually write new material. Add that to the fact that the last two weeks have been really crappy for me, and you get a short, probably sucky, chapter 59. Sorry about that.  
  
Well, things are still moving right along, so I think we'll finally get to the wedding in the next chapter. Please review and let me know that there's someone out there still reading this . . .  
  
. 


	14. Part 60

"It's Right There - Part 60"

* * *

On Friday night, after a brief rehearsal of the wedding ceremony in the front yard of the house, everyone was gathered at the inn where the dinner part of the rehearsal dinner was being held. Lorelai was sitting on the counter in the inn's kitchen drinking a glass of wine, talking with Sookie as she put the finishing touches on the main course. 

"Centerpieces?" Sookie asked.

"Done," Lorelai replied.

"Favors?"

"Finished."

"Placecards?" 

"Yup."

Sookie gave Lorelai an impressed nod. "Wow, you really kicked it into high gear this week to get all that stuff done, huh?"

Lorelai nodded. "Both of us taking the last few days off from work is what did it. It let us focus purely on wedding stuff."

"Have you packed for the honeymoon?" Sookie asked.

"Nah, we'll do that tomorrow," Lorelai replied. 

"It probably won't take long. . .depending on the amount of clothes you plan on wearing while you're away," Sookie said with a smile.

Lorelai took a sip of wine, then raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Not many."

Sookie giggled. "I thought so. You and Luke are definitely _that_ couple."

"And what exactly is _that_ couple?" Lorelai asked curiously.

"That couple that goes on a honeymoon and only leaves the hotel room like once or twice," Sookie explained. "_That_ couple." 

Lorelai giggled. "We're good at entertaining ourselves, what can I say?"

The door separating the kitchen from the dining room opened, and Emily walked in. "Oh, Lorelai, there you are," Emily said as she walked toward her.

"Hey, Mom," Lorelai said.

"Hi, Mrs. Gilmore," Sookie greeted her.

Emily smiled at Sookie. "Hello, Sookie. Nice to see you again." She turned to Lorelai. "What are you doing in here? Your guests are all out there."

Lorelai gestured toward Sookie. "I'm just keeping Sookie company while she finishes up. We'll be out in a minute." She checked her watch. "Did you just get here?"

Emily nodded. "Yes. Your father was on a business call, so we ran a little late, and then we got stuck in traffic, which made things even worse."

"Hm, not so fun commuting on a Friday night, is it?" Lorelai asked with a pointed smirk. "Maybe you'll be more understanding next time we're late for dinner."

"Yes, well, I'll keep that in mind," Emily replied. "I'm sorry we missed the rehearsal. How did it go?"

"It was fine. It's gonna be a fast ceremony," Lorelai said. "Bing, bang, boom – right to the point. 'I do', 'I do', 'here's your ring', 'here's your ring', 'you're married – break out the alcohol.'"

Emily rolled her eyes. "How romantic." 

"Yes, very."

Emily folded her hands in front of her. "So, tell me, where is Luke going to be sleeping tomorrow night?" 

Lorelai gave Emily a curious look. "Uh, I assume the same place as always – on the kitchen floor."

"I'm serious," Emily said.

"Me, too," Lorelai insisted. "He sleeps on the kitchen floor because sometimes I sleepwalk, and he doesn't want me to wind up in the kitchen in the middle of the night, asleep, and accidentally fall on some knives, so he sleeps down there to prevent that. Now what other guy would do something like that? I think that's a true sign that he loves me."

Emily glanced at Sookie. "You work with her every day?"

Sookie nodded. "It's never boring."

"Can I have a serious answer now?' Emily asked. "Is he going to stay with a friend?"

"Why would he do that? He has a perfectly good bed at home," Lorelai said. "And a mighty fine sleeping companion, I might add."

"But you don't want him to see you before the wedding, Lorelai," Emily insisted. "It's bad luck." 

"Tsk, Mom, that stupid superstition means that he's not supposed to see me getting ready," Lorelai said. "We're gonna wake up together and spend our wedding morning together doing last minute wedding stuff. . .and then he'll go to the apartment and get ready, and I'll get ready at home. He won't see me getting ready – happy?"

"Well, if that's the way you're doing it. . ." Emily said doubtfully. "Though I think the superstition clearly means that he's not supposed to see you that entire day prior to the ceremony."

Lorelai shrugged. "Oh well. If we end up divorced by next week, we'll know why."

Sookie handed the last tray of food to one of the waiters, then announced, "Okay, done. Lemme just wash my hands and I'll be ready."

"Okay." Lorelai hopped off the counter and smoothed out her dress. Emily stared at her for a moment, and Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Something wrong, Mom?"

"How are you feeling?" Emily asked. "Nervous?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Not really. . . just excited."

Sookie walked over to them, and the three of them started walking toward the lobby.

"Well, good," Emily said. "Excited is a good thing to be feeling."

"I'll drink to that," Lorelai said, holding up her glass of wine. She brought it to her lips and finished the contents of it.

Sookie smiled. "You'll drink to anything."

Lorelai smacked her playfully on the shoulder, and Sookie giggled as she walked away from them. 

Emily smiled. "You know, your father's excited, too."

"Oh yeah? That's nice."

"It's always a proud moment for a father to walk his daughter down the aisle," Emily said.

Lorelai froze momentarily, then slowly narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"Yes, fathers always look forward to doing that some day," Emily said. "Believe it or not, even yours."

Lorelai's eyes widened slightly and she forced a smile. "Right. . .yeah." She glanced across the room and saw Richard talking with Taylor, and she sighed softly. She turned back to Emily. "Uh, will you excuse me, Mom? I have to go. . .do something." 

Lorelai walked across the dining room to where Luke was talking with his friend John. "Hey," Lorelai said.

John smiled and nodded toward her. "Hey."

"Hi," Luke said. 

Lorelai put her hand on Luke's back as she looked up at him. "Um, can I steal you away for just a sec?"

"Yeah. Everything okay?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, I just wanna talk to you real quick," Lorelai said. 

"Okay. I'll be right back," Luke said to John. 

Lorelai took his hand and led him across the dining room and out the back door onto the porch. Lorelai dropped his hand and began pacing back and forth in front of him.

"What's your problem?" Luke asked.

She stopped walking and turned to face him. "My dad wants to walk me down the aisle. Not only that, but he already thinks he _is_ walking me down the aisle."

"And the problem with that is what?" 

Lorelai scoffed and shook her hands at him. "Hi, the problem is that I was planning on walking down the aisle by myself."

"Ah."

"But he thinks he's giving me away, and apparently, he's been looking forward to doing it," Lorelai said.

"So, just let him do it, then," Luke said with a shrug. "What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that I've spent the last seventeen years of my life being independent and strong and doing things for myself, and I was kinda looking at this walk down the aisle as . . . a representation of my life, in a way. Of me having to do things alone, me taking this big independent walk by myself," Lorelai explained, gesturing aimlessly with her hands. "Does that make any sense?"

Luke had a confused look on his face as he replied, "Kind of. . .I guess. . ." 

Lorelai sighed. "You think I'm a freak, don't you?"

"Yes."

Lorelai let out a long sigh and she put her hands on his shoulders. "What should I do?"

Luke shrugged. "It's up to you."

"Come on, be an overly-possessive guy's guy and just tell me what to do," Lorelai begged. "It's easier that way."

"Can't do that until you're my wife," Luke said. "That's when I get to control you and order you around."

Lorelai smiled. "You're in for a rude awakening, you know that?" She leaned forward and kissed him softly. 

He pulled back and stared at her. "So. . .what're you gonna do?"

Lorelai shook her head slightly. "I guess I'll just . . . let him do it. He's looking forward to it." She sighed. "No independence walk for me."

Luke gestured toward the door. "Why don't you walk all the way back to the door by yourself and call that your independence walk? Go ahead, I'll wait here." He folded his arms across his chest. 

Lorelai smirked at him and started walking backward toward the door. "Here I go. . . the walk of independence."

"You're doing good so far," Luke encouraged her.

She turned around and continued to the door, and when she reached it, she turned back to him and smiled. "Man, that felt good."

Luke shook his head slightly as he walked over to her. "I'm glad." She pulled open the door and he followed her back into the inn.

* * *

On Sunday morning, Lorelai was standing on the front porch, her hands shoved into the pockets of her denim cutoffs. She was watching people mill around the front yard. One set of workers from the inn was setting up tables and chairs under the tent that had been set up the night before. Another set of workers was busy placing baskets and vases of arranged flowers around the yard. The DJ had arrived and had set up his table in front of the porch, and was now setting up speakers around the yard. 

As she was staring out at everything, Luke and Rory walked out of the house. "Okay, Mom, I'm ready," Rory said.

Lorelai turned around. "Mmkay, let's go." Rory walked past her and headed toward the Jeep, and Lorelai walked over to Luke. He rested his hands on her waist as she draped her arms over his shoulders. "You better be gone when we get back from the hair salon. You can't see me once I've started the official 'getting-ready' process."

"I know, I know," Luke said, nodding. "I'm getting ready to leave soon."

Lorelai smiled and kissed him. As she slowly pulled back, she said, "You know, next time we kiss. . . we'll be married." She smirked and added, "Well, if you show up, of course."

"Me? Need I remind you which one of us has the bad track record for weddings?" Luke asked.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I had that one coming, huh?"

"Yup."

"Okay." Lorelai leaned forward and hugged him. "Bye."

"Bye."

Lorelai walked over to the Jeep and climbed in, and Luke watched as they pulled away. 

* * *

A few hours later, Lorelai, Rory and Sookie were upstairs in the bedroom. Rory and Sookie were already dressed and had finished their own makeup, and they were now helping Lorelai with hers. They heard a door slam outside, and Sookie walked over to the window. "Ooh, the cake's here," she announced.

Lorelai smiled and clapped. "Yay. So the day's gonna be good no matter what happens. If Luke shows up, we get married and celebrate by eating cake. If he doesn't, I wallow, then make myself feel better by eating cake. Either way, the ending's good." 

"Way to stay positive," Rory commented.

"I'm gonna go check on it, make sure it doesn't need any touching up," Sookie said. She left the room, and Rory kept working on Lorelai's makeup.

They were both quiet for a few seconds before Rory said, "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you feel like right now?"

"I feel like having a piece of wedding cake," she replied. "Run down and get me a piece, will ya?"

Rory smiled. "No, really, what's it feel like to know that you're getting married in. . ." She checked the clock. "Forty-seven minutes."

Lorelai shrugged. "It feels. . .I don't know . . I can't really describe the feeling."

"But it's a good feeling, right?"

Lorelai smiled up at her. "It's a great feeling."

Rory smiled. "Good."

  
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Lorelai called, "Come in!"

The door opened and Emily walked in. "Hello, hello," she said cheerfully. "How are my girls?"

"Hey Grandma," Rory said.

"Hi Mom," Lorelai said. "Just get here?"

"Oh, no, we've been here a bit, but I was downstairs checking on things, making sure the setup was all complete, you know," Emily explained. 

"Right."

"Everything looks beautiful. . .the yard, the decorations, the cake. . ."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "Aw, I really need cake right now. Mom, go cut me a piece of cake, pleeeeease?"

"No cake," Rory said sternly. "Sit still."

Lorelai grabbed the mascara brush out of her hand. "Here, let me do it. You'll probably end up jabbing me in the eye to get back at me for that time I accidentally did it to you." She leaned toward the mirror and started applying the mascara.

Emily sat down on the edge of the bed. "So, Lorelai, do you have something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?"

Lorelai gestured to the wedding dress. "Well, the dress is new." 

"What about the other three things?"

Lorelai finished with her mascara before she set it down and replied, "Well, I'm wearing this really ratty old pair of navy blue underwear that I borrowed from the woman down the street, so that should cover it."

Rory made a face. "You're so gross."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Forget I asked."

Lorelai smirked, then reached for her lipstick. She applied it, then put it away and stood up. "Okay, time for a bathroom break before I put the dress on. Be right back." Lorelai walked out of the room.

When she returned a few minutes later, Emily and Rory were both peering out the window.

"What's going on?" Lorelai asked from the doorway.

Rory turned around and smiled. "The guys just got here."

Lorelai smiled. "The guys? As in. . .the guys in the wedding? As in. . . Luke?"

Rory nodded. "Looks like he didn't make a run for it, after all."

"Stupid him. He had the perfect chance." Lorelai started walking toward the window.

Rory held up her hands. "Whoa, what are you doing?"

"Move. I wanna see him," Lorelai said.

"You can't see him before the wedding, Lorelai," Emily replied, still staring out the window.

"No, _he_ can't see _me_," Lorelai said. "I can see him all I want to."

Rory pushed her away from the window. "Unh uh, it works both ways."

Emily stepped back from the window. "You can't see him anymore anyway, he went under the tent."

Lorelai frowned. "Tsk, no fair."

"The moment when the bride and groom first see each other all dressed up is supposed to be a special moment," Rory said. "If you see him before that, it'll take away from the significance of said moment."

Lorelai sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not a patient person."

"I know." Rory patted her on the shoulder. "But you'll see him very soon."

Emily walked toward the door. "I'm going to go check on things downstairs, maybe mingle with the guests a little. I'll see you down there."

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, you will. I'll be the one by the cake."

Rory groaned. "Enough with the cake."

As Emily walked out of the room, Lorelai rubbed her hands together and smiled. "Okay, time for the dress."

* * *

A few minutes later, out in the front yard, Luke was standing under the tent talking to some of the wedding guests when he suddenly excused himself and walked over to Jess, who was sitting at one of the tables with Jill. "Time?" Luke asked.

Jess sighed. "Forty seconds after the last time you asked me. Why didn't you wear your own watch?"

"I forgot it upstairs," he replied. "And Lorelai's up there getting ready." He tapped his hands on his thighs as he glanced around the yard.

"What are you so nervous about?" Jess asked. "You think she's gonna skip out on you like she did to the last guy?"

"No, I'm _not_," he replied sharply. "I'm just. . .tired of waiting around, that's all."

A man with a camera walked up to Luke and tapped him on the shoulder. "Luke?"

Surprised, Luke turned around. "Oh, hey Brian." He looked at Jess as he gestured to the man. "Jess, this is Brian, one of the cameramen." 

"Yeah, the camera tipped me off," Jess replied. "Hey."

"Hi." Brian nodded toward him, then said to Luke, "I was hoping to get a few before shots. . .maybe with you and the groomsmen? Would that be okay?" 

"Did you already take some of Lorelai?" Luke asked. 

"Matt's about to go do that. He's loading up the other camera right now," Brian explained, pointing toward the porch where another cameraman was rummaging through a bag of equipment.

Luke glanced at the camera in Brian's hand, none too happy about having to pose for pictures, but he reluctantly muttered, "Yeah, all right. Just a couple."

* * *

Upstairs in the bedroom, Lorelai was now completely dressed, from her veil down to her shoes, and was staring at herself in the mirror. Rory stood behind her smiling. "It looks incredible, Mom, really," Rory said. "Luke's gonna die the minute he sees you."

"I hope not," Lorelai said. "If he dies before we're married, I won't get any of the insurance money." Lorelai turned around and smiled at Rory. "Okay, just about ready to head down there."

Rory clapped excitedly. "This is so exciting!" She reached up and hugged Lorelai. "I'm so happy for you."

"I know you are, thank you," Lorelai replied. She hugged her tighter. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Rory replied. She pulled back and smiled. "Ready to get married?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Let's go."

They walked out of the room and down the staircase. Sookie and Emily were standing in the living room, and they stared up at her as she walked down the steps.

Sookie gasped loudly. "Oh my God, you look amazing!" she gushed.

"Thanks, Sookie," Lorelai replied.

Emily smiled and nodded in agreement. "You look lovely, Lorelai. Simply lovely."

"Thanks, Mom."

"And you have perfect timing, too, because the cameraman's looking for you," Emily said. "He wants to take some shots of you with Sookie and Rory."

"Oh, okay. Where is he?" Lorelai asked.

"He'll be right in, he's loading the camera," Sookie said.

Lorelai nodded, and the four of them stood talking for a moment before the front door opened. They were expecting it to be the cameraman, but instead it was Richard who entered the living room. He stopped abruptly when he saw Lorelai, and his eyes widened.

"Dad, hi," Lorelai said.

"Lorelai," he replied with a nod. "Uh, you look. . .very nice."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."

The cameraman walked into the living room then, and Lorelai posed for pictures with her bridesmaids, with just Rory, and then with her parents, and by the time they were finished, it was time for the wedding ceremony to begin. The three of them in the wedding grabbed their bouquets, and as Emily walked outside to take her seat, Richard and the girls gathered by the front door.

Rory and Sookie both hugged Lorelai before they stepped out onto the porch. When they did, the DJ started the music, and the crowd watched as they made their way down the aisle. A red carpet directed them where to go, running across the front of the porch and down the side porch steps. It went behind half of the chairs that were set up between their house and Babette's, then turned right to go down the small aisle that separated the two sections of chairs. It ran down that aisle and stopped at the chuppah on the side of the house, where Luke, Jess, John, and the priest were all gathered. 

Inside, Lorelai glanced up at Richard, who was staring back down at her. She smiled a slightly nervous smile and said, "Hi. How's it going?"

"Just fine, thank you." Richard paused a moment, then added, "You know, you look stunning, Lorelai. Absolutely stunning."

Lorelai smiled and leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you, Daddy."

Richard swallowed hard and nodded, giving her a small smile. Lorelai stared at the front door and waited for the music to pause, which was her cue to come out.

As they waited, Lorelai glanced down at her hand. "Oops, the ring." She moved her engagement ring to her right hand.

"Why are you doing that?" Richard asked.

"Well, when you wear both of them together, the wedding ring's supposed to go on your finger first," Lorelai explained. "And then you put the engagement ring on after it. So by moving it to the other hand ahead of time, I won't have to take the wedding ring off later to arrange them because it'll already be in the right spot. Understand?"

"Not really, but I'm perfectly fine with that," Richard replied.

Lorelai smiled. "Okay." She listened for a moment. "The music stopped."

"Yes, it did."

"That's our cue."

Richard reached for the door handle. "You ready?"

Lorelai nodded and linked her arm through his. Richard pulled open the doors, and they stepped onto the porch. The music started up again, and they followed the red carpet across the porch. When they reached the end of the porch, the crowd came into better view, and Lorelai saw that everyone was standing and had turned around to get a good look at her. She smiled at them as she and Richard followed the carpet down the porch steps and behind the row of chairs. 

They paused when they reached the end of the aisle, and she stared straight ahead, getting her first glimpse of Luke standing across the yard under the chuppah. Lorelai smiled brightly as her heart started racing with excitement.

Luke had tried to see her as she was walking across the porch, but Richard was blocking his view, and all he saw was a flash of white. It was not until she appeared at the end of the aisle that he finally saw her.

He had thought about that moment, about what it would be like to see her in her wedding dress for the first time. He knew that she'd look beautiful – the woman looked incredible in a T-shirt and sweatpants, so he knew that there was no limit to how amazing she would look in a wedding dress.

But even realizing that ahead of time, it did not prepare him for the actual moment.

When she appeared at the end of the aisle, his eyes widened with amazement, and the anxious smile he'd had developed into a wide grin. "Oh my God," he muttered quietly to himself. 

She was captivating. . .he wouldn't have been able to take his eyes off of her even if he had wanted to. Even from across the yard, she took his breath away, and as she ascended toward him down the aisle, he realized that she only became even more amazing up close. 

He wasn't the only one who thought so. A murmur ran through the crowd as she walked by them, with everyone staring at her in awe. 

As she approached him, standing there in his crisp black suit with his hands folded behind his back, she blocked out everyone else around her. She concentrated only on him, staring into his eyes; he stared back into hers until she was within a few feet of him. It was then that his gaze shifted from her eyes down to the dress, taking it all in, noting to himself how perfectly it accentuated her curves. As he brought his gaze back up to meet hers, she was still staring at him, smiling broadly, her arm still linked through Richard's. 

They were so enamored with staring at each other that Lorelai didn't hear the words exchanged between Richard and the priest. It wasn't until Richard patted her on the arm that she realized that he had just given her away.

Lorelai shook herself out of her daze, and as she handed her bouquet to Sookie, Luke extended his hand toward her. She clasped onto it, then took a step forward and joined him under the chuppah.

Lorelai smiled at him. "Hi."

Luke was smiling back at her. "Hey."

"You clean up nice," she commented.

"Me? Look at. . ." Luke's eyes widened as he gestured to her dress. "That dress is. . . you look. . . wow. . ."

Lorelai glanced down at it and shrugged nonchalantly. "This old thing?"

The priest cleared his throat, and Lorelai and Luke both turned to face him. He began a speech about marriage. . .what it is, what it represents, how important it is. . .and while the bride and groom tried to listen, the occasional glances they kept sneaking at each other made them lose their concentration. 

It wasn't until Reverend Nichols said, "And let us begin the vows," that they both realized it was probably a good time to pay attention. They turned to face each other, and they clasped both sets of their hands together.

The priest turned to Luke. "Do you Lucas, take Lorelai to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward?" 

Luke stared into Lorelai's eyes as he replied, "I do."

The sound of his voice sent a chill through Lorelai's body. It wasn't until she heard those two little words that the reality of the situation set in. The moment was finally there – they were only minutes away from being married. All the preparation, all the anxiety, all the anticipation. . .it was all for that moment. 

As her emotions overwhelmed her, Lorelai swallowed hard as she felt tears forming in her eyes, and she quickly glanced toward the sky. She blinked a few times, trying to prevent them from running down her cheeks. 

She brought her gaze back to Luke as the priest continued, "Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish her, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health?"

"I do," Luke replied.

Lorelai's lower lip quivered slightly as she smiled at him.

"And, forsaking all others, will you remain faithful only to her as long as you both shall live? 

Luke smiled at her and gave her hands a squeeze. "I will."

That was all it took. A gentle squeeze of her hands was enough to make the tears begin to slowly stream down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and smiled at him as she tried to regain some control. The crowd intently watched on, and the appearance of Lorelai's tears sent many of the women reaching for their own Kleenexes. 

The priest turned to Lorelai and repeated the same three questions, and smiling through her sniffles, she answered as Luke did. 

The priest announced, "The rings, please."

As Luke turned around to retrieve the ring from Jess, Lorelai turned to Rory. Rory, her eyes red and her cheeks tear-stained, gave Lorelai a quick kiss on the cheek as she handed her the ring. 

Lorelai and Luke turned back to each other and waited for the priest to continue. 

"Lorelai, place the ring on his finger and repeat after me." The priest instructed her of what to say.

Lorelai placed the ring on Luke's finger, and repeated the priest's words exactly. "Lucas. . ." She paused momentarily to smirk at him, and Luke smiled. She continued, "I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am, and all that I have . . . I honor you." 

After a repetition of the line from the Reverend, Luke took her hand into his. He cleared his throat and said, "Lorelai, I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you." As he pushed the ring up her finger, he smiled at her and laced his fingers through hers. Lorelai smiled at him and squeezed his hand tightly. 

Reverend Nichols clasped his hands together. "Well, by the power vested in me by the state of Connecticut, I now pronounce you. . ."

Lorelai, Luke, and the rest of the guests all stared at the priest expectantly, waiting for the official declaration.

". . .husband and wife," he finished. He smiled at Luke and added, "You may kiss the bride."

Lorelai and Luke grinned at each other, then leaned forward and pressed their lips together in a soft, yet passionate, kiss. They both smiled through it, and as he pulled her closer into a hug, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as the crowd applauded. 

Luke and Lorelai finally pulled apart from each other and shared one more kiss before they turned to face their guests. Lorelai glanced toward the rows of seats, and her eyes landed on her parents. They were standing in the front row and were both smiling proudly, and Emily was dabbing her eyes with a tissue. Lorelai smiled to herself as Luke took her hand and led her down the aisle. As they passed the rows of seats, several people called out their congratulations and patted them on their arms.

When they reached the end of the aisle, Luke and Lorelai both turned around. The bridal party had been following them down the aisle, and Lorelai grinned when she saw Rory walking right toward her. 

Lorelai held open her arms, and Rory walked right into them and hugged her tightly. "Congratulations, Mom," she whispered into her ear. Her voice was quivering, and it made Lorelai's tears start up again. She kissed Rory on the cheek and hugged her tighter.

When they pulled apart, Lorelai wiped her eyes. "Geez, they really need to put pockets in these things," she said, gesturing to the wedding dress. "There's nowhere to put any tissues."

Rory was wiping her own eyes as she replied, "I think you're supposed to stuff them down your bra."

Lorelai smiled. "Right. I forgot." She glanced past her and saw Sookie waiting patiently, not wanting to interrupt the mother/daughter moment. "Sookie!"

Sookie giggled excitedly and stepped up to her. "You did it, honey!" They hugged tightly.

Lorelai pulled back and looked at Sookie's red eyes. "Oh man, you cried, too? Is there anyone here with dry eyes?" 

Sookie shook her head. "Nope. I was watching the crowd, almost all of them were crying. I think I even saw Kirk fishing around his pocket for a tissue."

"Maybe he was just . . .uh, _adjusting_ himself," Lorelai suggested. She suddenly shuddered and made a face. "Ew, did I really just say that about Kirk?"

Sookie giggled. "Yeah, make sure you don't shake his hand."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Ew, that's so. . ." Her voice trailed off as she saw the wedding guests starting to file toward her. "Uh oh, gotta go greet the people."

She glanced over at Luke, who was a few feet away talking with Jess and John. She walked over and tapped him on the back. "Luke."

He turned around. "Yeah?"

She gestured toward the crowd. "This is where we have to stand together and smile and shake hands while people compliment us and tell us we look adorable together."

"Oh. . .right." Luke didn't look enthused by this, but he let her pull him back over to the end of the aisle. The bridal party stood a few feet away from them as part of the receiving line. 

A line of guests had formed, and Miss Patty was at the front of it. She hugged both of them and gushed, "Oh my Goodness, everything was perfect! Lorelai, that dress is beautiful!"

"Thanks, Patty."

Patty patted Luke on the chest and said, "And you, my dear, should wear suits more often. They make you look yummier than usual."

Luke stepped back from her and pointed toward the tent. "Okay, go find your seat and stay away from the alcohol."

Miss Patty winked at him and walked away, and the line continued. A few minutes later, Christopher and Sherry stepped up to them. Sherry politely congratulated them and moved on to talk to Rory, and Christopher stood smiling at Lorelai. "You were right – you do look great in that dress."

Lorelai smiled and glanced down at it. "See, I didn't lie."

He leaned forward and hugged her. "Congratulations, Lor." 

Lorelai kissed him on the cheek as he pulled away. "Thank you. I'm glad you came."

"Yeah, me too." Christopher took a step over and uncomfortably extended a hand toward Luke. "Congratulations. . . you're a lucky guy."

Luke shook his hand. "Thanks." He glanced at Lorelai as he replied, "I know." Lorelai smiled at Luke as Christopher walked away.

Emily and Richard were next in line, and Lorelai smiled at them. "Mom, Dad, any complaints? Did the wedding meet all the regulations set forth in the Gilmore family book of wedding day standards?"

"Not even close," Emily replied, rolling her eyes slightly. She smiled and added, "But it was beautiful all the same."

"Yes, it was a very nice ceremony," Richard agreed. "And you still look stunning."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."

Richard shook Luke's hand. "And you don't look so bad yourself, there, Luke."

"Thank you, sir," Luke replied. 

"Come on, Richard, let's keep the line moving and go see Rory," Emily said. She smiled at Lorelai. "We'll talk to you later."

Lorelai nodded, and as they walked away, she glanced toward the line, which was no longer a line but more like a muffled clump of people, and called, "Okay, let's move it along! The sooner we start eating, the sooner we'll get to the cake!" 

* * *

To be continued. . . 

Author's Note:

Thanks _sooooo _much for all the nice feedback, guys! I really, _really_ appreciate it! :) The next chapter will probably be mostly the reception, and maybe the wedding night.

For those of you who were wondering, I'm planning on keeping the wedding night pretty subdued – not because of the site restrictions, but because I want it to convey a more romantic tone than a graphic one. However, I _may_ post a slightly different version here versus at the Yahoo groups. It probably won't be much more detailed, but if you would want to read it and don't belong to the Yahoo groups, just mention that with an email address in a review, and if I do end up with two versions, I can email you the other one. :) 

Again, thanks for all the nice reviews! :)


	15. Parts 61 and 62

It's Right There, parts 61 – 62

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Author's Note: Wow, thank you so much for all the nice feedback! I'm glad you guys enjoyed reading about the wedding as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

* * * * * * * 

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Part 61

* * *

When they had finished greeting the guests, Lorelai turned to Luke and smiled at him. "That wasn't so bad, huh?"

"If you consider saying the phrase 'thank you' four thousand times in a row as not bad, then I guess not," Luke said.

Lorelai leaned toward him and said, "It's just preparation for the honeymoon and all the 'thank you's' that you'll be muttering amid the throes of passion." She closed her eyes and quietly panted, "Oh Lorelai, unh, thank you, oh God, oh yeah, thank you –"

Luke's faced reddened with embarrassment as he clamped a hand over her mouth. "Will you knock that off?" he hissed, looking around nervously.

Lorelai giggled as she pushed his hand away. "Relax, no one heard me."

"Yeah, well. . ." Luke pressed his forehead against hers. "I think you might be calling out a few thank you's yourself."

Lorelai smirked. "I bet I will." 

Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up against his body. "Hey?"

"Yeah?" Lorelai draped her arms over his shoulders and twirled her fingers through his hair. 

He brought his lips to her ear and whispered, "You look amazing."

Lorelai smiled. "So do you."

He pulled back slightly and glanced down at her dress. "I still can't get over that dress. It's just. . ." 

"Nice?" Lorelai supplied.

Luke nodded as he ran his thumb over the embroidered detail on the bodice. "Very."

Rory and Sookie walked up to them, followed by the photographers. "Hey, you two," Sookie said. "They wanna get some pictures by the chuppah. Some of you guys alone, some of you with the wedding party, stuff like that."

"Okay," Lorelai said. 

"Uh, I'll go get the guys," Luke said.

"Okay," Lorelai replied. As he walked away, the rest of them started walking toward the chuppah.

Sookie pointed to Lorelai's hand. "You can switch your ring back now, honey."

Lorelai glanced down at her hands. "Oh, right." She moved her engagement ring back to her left hand, slipping it on after her wedding band. She held them out at arm's length and smiled. "Aw, they look good together." 

Sookie handed Lorelai her bouquet. "Yes, they do. Now, let's get these pictures done so I can go inside and make sure the servers aren't screwing up the food."

"Everything's already made, Sookie," Lorelai reminded her. "They just have to put the food onto the plates."

"Yes, but the presentation of the food is just as important as the actual taste of the food," Sookie said with an exasperated sigh. "You know that. I've explained it to you hundreds of times." 

Lorelai nodded and patted Sookie on the shoulder. "I know. We'll try to hurry." She glanced past her and smiled. "Look, here are the guys. Okay, let's get this these pictures done before Sookie has a breakdown." Luke, Jess, and John walked up to them, and the photography session began. 

* * *

When they were finished, the wedding party headed into the house to relax for a few minutes before the first dance. The wedding guests stayed out front, some of them sitting down at their tables, some of them standing around the yard mingling.

Sookie went into the kitchen to help with the food while the rest of them lounged around the living room talking. Lorelai and Luke were sitting next to each other on the couch with Lorelai's head resting against his shoulder. 

"I need coffee," Lorelai whined. "Who wants to go get it for me? I'll give you everything I own. . .which, because I'm now married to Luke, includes a lovely diner for all your restauranting needs, so the deal's pretty good for whoever takes it."

"Uh, sorry to disappoint you, but you don't automatically own the diner now," Luke informed her.

Lorelai gasped and sat up straight. "What? So this entire year – the whole 'me pretending to fall in love with you and agreeing to marry you' act that I put on with the sole intention of becoming an owner of the diner was for nothing?" 

"Yup."

Her eyes widened and she clutched her chest. "And now I'm stuck with you for a husband?"

"Looks that way."

Lorelai frowned. "Wow. That sucks."

Luke shrugged. "Sorry."

"Tsk." Lorelai slumped back against him. "Someone. . .coffee. . .soon. . ."

Rory stood up and started walking toward the kitchen. "I'll go get it."

"Thank you. Hurry!" Lorelai urged.

Rory returned a minute later with a mug of coffee and handed it to Lorelai.

"Oh, God bless you, child," Lorelai said. She took a long sip and moaned happily. "Ahhh, wow, I needed that."

A few minutes later, the DJ walked into the house. "Okay, you guys just about ready?"

Lorelai looked up at him from the couch. "Mmhmm." She patted Luke on the knee. "Ready?"

"Yup."

"Sookie!" Lorelai called toward the kitchen. "Come on!"

Sookie walked out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "I'm ready."

Lorelai finished the last of her coffee and set the mug on the coffee table, then the bridal party lined up by the door. The DJ stood at the doorway and explained, "Okay, I'm gonna introduce the bridal party first and they'll walk out, and then everyone will stand, and I'll introduce the bride and groom, and then we'll start the first dance."

"Sounds good," Lorelai said with a nod.

Sookie turned around to look at Lorelai. "All the Way?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "You know it. It's our song." 

The DJ walked out of the house, and a few seconds later, they heard him call for everyone's attention. He introduced the bridal party, and the four of them walked out into the front yard. 

The front door closed, leaving Lorelai and Luke standing in the entryway. She smiled up at him. "Hey."

"Hi." Luke kissed her gently on the lips, then pulled back, glanced around, and asked, "Wait, are we the only people in the house right now?"

Lorelai nodded. "I think so. Besides a few servers in the kitchen."

Luke turned to her with a sly smirk. He put his hands on her shoulders and pressed her up against the front door as he kissed her deeply. It wasn't like the sweet, tame, 'there are people watching us' kiss that they shared right after their vows. It was an intense, needy, 'we're finally alone' kiss that was brimming with passion.

A soft moan escaped her throat as she felt his tongue parting her lips, and she opened her mouth to welcome it in. Her hands slid up the outside of his suit and grabbed onto his lapel, pulling him closer to her as the soft dueling of their tongues continued.

When he finally pulled back from her, he leaned his forehead against hers and smiled. She brought her hands up to his face and used her thumbs to wipe off the lipstick from his lips. "Wanna skip the rest of the wedding and just go to a motel?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's go."

They smiled at each other and kissed again, then got back into position to walk out the door. When they heard the DJ ask the guests to stand, Lorelai said, "Okay, let's start walking out."

Luke pulled open the door and Lorelai linked her arm through his. They stepped onto the porch and stood there for a second as the DJ announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to formerly introduce to you. . .Mr. and Mrs. Lucas Danes!"

As the crowd applauded, Lorelai and Luke smiled at each other and walked down the porch steps, across the yard, and over to the dance floor under the tent. One of the cameramen was aiming a video camera at them while the other snapped some pictures with the regular camera.

"The newlyweds will now lead us in the first dance of the evening," the DJ announced.

As the familiar Sinatra tune started playing from the speakers, Lorelai and Luke started dancing. The guests watched them dance alone for a minute before other couples started joining them on the dance floor.

A smiling Lorelai rested her chin on Luke's shoulder as she glanced at the other couples immediately surrounding her. She kissed Luke on the cheek before she pulled back to look at him. "This is nice, huh?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, this is nice."

"This time last year, would you have ever imagined that we'd be where we are right now – here, dancing at our wedding?" Lorelai asked.

Luke shook his head. "Not in a million years."

"Me either," Lorelai said. "A lot can happen in a year."

"Yup."

She stared into his eyes as she stroked his sideburns. "I remember the first time I saw that look."

"What look?"

"The look you have in your eyes right now," Lorelai said. "The one that made me realize that you cared about me. . .that's the look that started it all."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm glad it's still there."

Luke kissed her on the cheek. "It's always gonna be there."

Lorelai smiled. "Good, because otherwise this whole wedding thing probably would've been a waste of money." She rested her chin back against his shoulder as they danced the rest of the song.

When it was over, they sat down at the head table with the rest of the bridal party. As they began eating the salads, Lorelai nudged Rory with her elbow. "Hey. . . did you see that nice pile of presents?"

Rory smiled and glanced over at the gift table near Babette's porch. "Yes, I did. When are you gonna open them?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. They may have to wait until we get back from Vermont." She took a sip of champagne, then asked, "So, your plans are all set for the next few days, right?"

Rory nodded. "Yup. I'm going home with Dad and Sherry tonight, and then they're bringing me back on Wednesday night."

"Sounds good. And then we'll be back on Thursday."

"Yup, with lots of souvenirs for your favorite daughter," Rory added.

Lorelai smiled. "Right. I think that – " 

She was interrupted by a clanging noise, and she turned to see what it was. She glanced at a nearby table and saw Miss Patty tapping her fork on her champagne glass. As several others joined in, Luke turned to Lorelai with a confused look. "Why the hell are they doing that?"

Lorelai smiled at him. "We're supposed to kiss when that happens."

Luke rolled his eyes. "You're kidding me."

"It's a wedding tradition," Lorelai said. Before he could protest, she leaned forward and pecked him on the lips, but the clanging didn't stop.

"Pathetic!" Miss Patty yelled.

"What kind of a kiss was that?" Babette yelled, banging louder on her glass. "Come on, put some feeling into it!" Other guests yelled similar things in agreement.

Lorelai shrugged at Luke. "They weren't satisfied with that kiss, hon."

"Too bad."

Lorelai put her hand on his arm. "Come on, it's our wedding day, it won't kill you to show a _little_ affection here."

"No, I think it might," he replied.

Lorelai pouted and pressed her palms together. "Please? Pretty please?"

Luke rolled his eyes as the banging got even louder. "Is that the only thing that'll shut them up?"

"Yup."

He exhaled loudly and stood up. "All right, but this is the only time that banging is gonna work tonight, so don't even try it again," he announced to the crowd. He pulled Lorelai up from her seat and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her deeply. The crowd murmured their approval of this kiss, and the banging slowly dissipated. 

As they broke apart, Lorelai smiled toward the audience. "How was that?"

Several people clapped, and Babette gave Luke a thumbs-up. "Much better, honey."

Luke and Lorelai sat back down, and Luke muttered, "Stupid people."

"And look at that – remarkably, you're still alive," Lorelai pointed out.

"Just barely," Luke huffed as he took a bite of his salad.

* * *

When they had finished their salads, Lorelai and Luke walked around to the tables to mingle with the guests as the main course was being served. As they reached Emily and Richard's table, they found Emily and Mrs. Kim in a conversation about furniture.

Lorelai sat down next to Richard, and Luke stood behind her. "How's it going, Dad?" Lorelai asked. 

"Oh, just fine," Richard replied. He lowered his voice and said, "Don't tell your mother this, but I dare say that I kind of enjoy this casual type of outdoor wedding a tad more than those stuffy formal ones we always get roped into attending."

Lorelai smiled. "Your secret's safe with me."

"And dancing your first dance to Frank Sinatra – excellent choice," Richard said with a wink. 

"We think so," Lorelai said with a nod.

As Mrs. Kim walked away, Emily turned to Lorelai and Luke. "Well, hello there, you two. How are you holding up?"

Luke nodded as Lorelai said, "Good, Mom. How's everything so far?"

"Fine, everything's just fine," Emily replied. "It appears that things are running smoothly."

"Yup, everything's going as we planned it," Lorelai said.

"Well, good, that's good," Emily said.

Lorelai stood up. "Okay, we're gonna go sit down and eat. We'll see you guys later."

"Yes, we'll see you soon," Emily said.

As Luke and Lorelai walked back to their table, Lorelai said, "Wow, your throat must be sore from all that talking."

"Well, I didn't know what to say," Luke said. "You're the one that's good at making small talk."

"Yes, and you're the one that's good at standing there for moral support," Lorelai said, patting him on the back. "It's a good system we've got."

"Yes, it is," Luke said. As they sat down at their table, he said, "Oh, I was thinking about maybe bringing a couple fishing poles to Vermont."

"For what?"

"To go fishing," Luke said. "John mentioned earlier that there are a lot of lakes up around that area to fish in."

Lorelai forced a smile. "Oh, well, remind me to thank him for that information later."

Luke shrugged. "Hey, we're gonna be there for a few days, and we don't know what else there is to do up there, so this'll be a good backup plan if we get bored."

"You think we're gonna get bored on our honeymoon?" Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "Hon, don't you know what the main activity of most honeymoons is?"

"Please, even _you_ can't do it nonstop for four days straight," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "We'll need other things to do."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "But fishing?" Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Ooh, wait – but don't you need some sort of license to fish?" she asked hopefully. "Guess we can't do it then. Shucks."

"Actually, you can buy it when you get there," Luke informed her.

"Oh, well, isn't that . . .handy," she muttered.

"Come on, it won't kill you to do something outdoorsy," Luke pointed out. "Plus, need I remind you that you're dragging me to an ice cream factory?"

Lorelai waved him off. "Okay, okay, point taken. No more complaining."'

"Thank you."

* * *

When they had finished eating, Luke walked over to talk with his friends while Lorelai and Rory walked into the house to get some coffee. When they returned with full mugs, Lorelai paused a moment and listened to the song that was just starting up. "Hey, this is My Funny Valentine," Lorelai said.

"Yes, I believe it is," Rory agreed. 

Lorelai handed her mug to Rory. "Here, can you put this at my seat? There's something I wanna do."

"Sure."

Lorelai walked across the yard to where Richard was talking with Andrew, and she tapped him on the shoulder. "Dad?"

Richard turned around. "Lorelai, hello."

Lorelai gestured to the dance floor. "Um, do you wanna dance – it's Sinatra. I know how much you like him."

A small smile appeared on his lips and he nodded. "Why, I'd like that very much." 

Lorelai smiled. "Good. Come on." She walked to the dance floor, and after excusing himself from Andrew, Richard followed behind her. 

As they started dancing, Lorelai asked, "So, you're still having a good time?"

"I'm having a wonderful time," Richard replied. "You've planned a beautiful wedding, Lorelai. You should be very proud."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you. I know it's not the fancy, extravagant wedding you and Mom had probably envisioned for me, but. . ."

"Oh, who cares about what we envisioned?" Richard remarked. "It's your wedding. As long as you're happy, we're happy." 

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks, Dad."

"You know, someone once said, 'True it is that marriages be done in heaven and performed on earth'," Richard said.

"Wow, that's beautiful when you think about it," Lorelai commented. 

"Yes, it is," Richard said. "But sometimes you look at two people getting married and you can just tell that it's destined not to work out. Something doesn't seem right about the particular situation."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes slightly, wondering where he was going with this. 

"But. . . I must say, that certainly isn't the case here," Richard said. He paused a moment before he added, "Your mother and I are happy for you, Lorelai. . . happy that you've found someone who treats you and Rory well. That Luke is a good man."

Surprised to hear such tenderness from her father, a slight chill ran through Lorelai's body. She swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, he is," she whispered.

Across the yard, Rory was smiling as she watched Lorelai dance with Richard, and someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and smiled. "Luke, hi."

"Hey." He gestured toward the dance floor. "Uh, you wanna. . .you know. . ."

Rory smirked. "Aw, DaddyLuke, are you asking me to dance?"

Luke shrugged. "Well, you know, if you wanted to . . ."

Rory set her coffee on a nearby table and said, "Sure. Come on."

They walked onto the dance floor. Luke took one of Rory's small hands into his own, and placed his other hand on her back. As they started dancing, Rory smiled up at him. "So. . .you're married now."

"Looks that way," he agreed.

"How's it feel?" 

"It feels. . .pretty good," Luke replied. 

Rory glanced past him at Lorelai and Richard dancing. "Mom looks amazing, doesn't she?"

Luke turned his head to look at her. "Yes, she does." Lorelai looked over just then and saw him looking at her, and they smiled at each other. Luke turned back to Rory. "Okay, so, the longest I've been with her in a car is like an hour or two at most, but you've been on long road trips with her before – any advice for the four hour trek up to Vermont?"

Rory thought for a moment, then said, "Make sure you have music. I know you don't really like listening to music in the car. . ."

"I don't," he interjected.

"But if you don't have any, she'll complain the entire time about not having any, and that's a hundred times worse then having to listen to music."

"Huh. I see your point," Luke said. "Okay, bring music, got it. Anything else?"

"Either bring coffee with you, or be prepared to stop every thirty minutes to get some," Rory warned him.

Luke smiled. "Yeah, I figured that. I've already got some thermoses cleaned and ready to go."

"Smart man," Rory said.

"Thank you. Anything else?"

Rory puckered her lips as she pondered, then said, "Bring some food for the ride, because as you know, she's always hungry."

"Yes, she is."

"But also be prepared to stop at all the roadside stands. She loves road food."

"Okay."

"Other than that, you should be good," Rory said. "I wish you lots of luck."

"Thanks."

They danced almost a minute in silence before Rory said, "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

She stared up at him for a moment before she said quietly, "I'm glad you're my stepfather."

Luke smiled. "The feeling's mutual."

Rory smiled and nodded. "Good." 

When the song ended, Lorelai walked over to them. "Okay, let me just say that you two dancing together was quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen. I hope the photographer got some good pictures of it."

"I saw a couple flashes go off, so I think he did," Rory said. She gestured across the yard. "I'm gonna go sit with Dean and Lane."

"Okay," Lorelai replied. 

"Thanks for the dance, Luke," Rory said.

"My pleasure," he replied.

As Rory walked away, Lorelai heard the next song start up. She patted him on the chest and asked, "Ooh, you wanna dance or you gonna sit this one out?"

"Uh, I'm gonna take a break," Luke said. 

"Later?" she asked hopefully.

"Promise." He kissed her on the cheek and walked away. 

Lorelai glanced around and spotted Christopher across the yard, and she walked over to him. She tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around. "Hey."

"Hi. Where's Sherry?" Lorelai asked.

"She just went inside to freshen up," Christopher said.

"Oh. Got a dance saved for the bride?" Lorelai asked.

Christopher smiled. "Absolutely."

Lorelai took his hand and led him to the dance floor, and they started dancing. 

"So. . .what do you think?" Lorelai said. "Not a bad wedding for being planned in just a month, huh?"

"Not at all," Christopher said. "It's amazing, really. Though your mother must be screaming inside wondering where the gold-plated napkin rings are."

Lorelai smiled. "No, actually, they're handling the casual-type atmosphere very well. They even said they like it, though I personally think they're just so glad that I'm finally getting hitched that they don't care how the hell it happens anymore."

Christopher smiled. "Maybe." He paused a moment, then said, "You know, I'm happy for you, Lor. I don't know if I've told you that."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."

"I've been watching you. . . you know, throughout the wedding and everything, and . . . seeing you so happy is just. . ." Christopher shrugged and shook his head slightly. "It's great, Lor. Really. You deserve to be this happy." He pulled her closer and hugged her.

Lorelai smiled and nudged him with her elbow. "Okay, stop, you're gonna make me weepy."

He pulled back from her and smiled. "Sorry. Let's just dance." 

* * *

Shortly after, it was time to cut the cake. A couple of servers wheeled it out on a cart, and Luke and Lorelai stood next to it on the porch. The crowd gathered in front of them on the lawn, and they both grasped the knife and cut the first piece together. They cut the piece in half and they each picked up a part of it.

Lorelai gave him a devilish grin. "The moment I've been waiting for."

"Don't even think about it," Luke warned her.

She smiled. "What are you gonna do? Divorce me?"

"Maybe."

They simultaneously brought the pieces of cake to each other's mouths and each took a bite, and a chorus of "aw's" sprang from the audience as they fed each other. When they had both finished chewing, Lorelai smiled at him. "Happy?"

"Yes."

Lorelai looked at the small piece she was still holding. "But, you know, I still have this tiny little piece left. What should I do with it?" She eyed him curiously, then glanced toward the crowd. "Should I?" 

"Smush it, honey!" Miss Patty yelled, and several people cheered. 

Lorelai turned back to Luke and shrugged. "The masses have spoken."

"Yeah, well, the masses aren't the one you have to live with for the rest of your life," Luke reminded her. He took a step back from her and held up his piece. "Plus, I have a retaliation piece."

"So. . .use it." Lorelai pressed her palm against his cheek, smearing the leftover cake all over it. Lorelai giggled as Luke returned the action, shoving his piece on her chin. The audience laughed at the scene, and with both of their faces covered with icing, Luke and Lorelai kissed softly as the crumbs felt onto their outfits.

Lorelai pulled back and licked the cake off of her lips. "Mm, that's good stuff, isn't it?"

"It's not bad." 

One of the servers handed them some napkins before wheeling the cake back into the house. The crowd dispersed and headed back to their tables as Luke and Lorelai cleaned up.

Lorelai smiled as she brushed some of the crumbs off of Luke's suit. "You're not mad, are you? It was fun, right?"

Luke was wiping the icing off his fingers as he shrugged. "Yeah. . .okay, it was a little fun," he reluctantly admitted.

"Well, I hate to say I told you so. . ."

"No, you don't."

"You're right – I told you so," Lorelai said with a smile. "Now, let's go eat cake."

* * *

A little while later, Lorelai walked out of the house and onto the porch, and Sookie and Michel were standing near the front door.

"Oh my God, it just took me like twenty minutes to go to the bathroom," Lorelai announced.

"Bad chicken?" Michel suggested.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "No, I've discovered that it's virtually impossible to go to the bathroom in a wedding dress. They're too. . .poofy."

"Yeah, women all over the world have had that problem," Sookie said. "I think some of them just hold it for twelve hours so they won't have to deal with it."

"Have you seen Luke?" Lorelai asked.

Sookie smiled and gestured to the tent. "Dance floor."

Surprised, Lorelai's eyes widened. "Dance floor? Dance floor with who. . ." Lorelai's voice trailed off as she saw Luke dancing with Emily. "Wow."

"Yeah," Sookie said.

"Interesting," Lorelai said. Her eyes gazed over to the right and saw Richard dancing with Rory. "Aw, look at that."

"I know, it's quite a cute scene out there," Sookie commented. 

Down on the dance floor, Luke was slightly uncomfortable dancing with Emily, but was trying not to let it show as they talked.

"So, are you all packed for the honeymoon?" Emily asked.

"Yup, we're all set," Luke replied. "Though your daughter, even after saying that she wasn't bringing much, packed enough for a four-week vacation rather than a four-day one."

"Yes, well, she knows that it's good to be prepared for everything," Emily said. "She gets that from me."

"Ah."

They danced quietly for a few moments until Emily said, "She's happy."

Luke, who had been staring across the lawn at Lorelai, turned back to Emily. "Huh?"

Emily nodded toward Lorelai. "It's good to see her so happy."

Luke didn't know what to say, so he just nodded in agreement.

Emily cleared her throat and said, "You know, I always wanted Lorelai and Christopher to get back together, to see Rory's parents make it work."

Luke tensed up slightly. "Uh huh. . ."

Emily was staring across the yard at Lorelai. "But just seeing how happy she is right now. . . " She glanced up at Luke. "Well. . .you know. . .it's nice."

Luke nodded, and gave a sideways glance across the yard at Lorelai, who was laughing about something with Sookie. He smiled to himself before he glanced back at Emily. "Yeah, it's nice." She smiled and nodded, and they continued dancing.

* * *

Later in the evening, some of the guests had left, the servers had begun to clean up the tables, and the DJ announced that the next song would be the last dance of the evening. Lorelai was sitting at the head table sipping her champagne when she suddenly stood up and called, "Luke!" 

The remaining guests all turned to look at her. "What's the matter, dollface?" Babette asked.

"It's the last dance, where's Luke?" Lorelai asked.

"I think I saw him go into the house," John said from across the yard.

"Someone get him out here," Lorelai said worriedly. "He can't miss the last dance!"

"Okay, chill out, I'll go find him," Jess said, standing up from his seat. He walked across the yard and into the house.

Lorelai walked over to the edge of the dance floor and tapped her foot impatiently. "Don't start the song until he gets out here," she warned the DJ. He nodded.

A minute later, Luke walked out of the house, and Lorelai clapped as he walked over to her. "Good, there you are."

"Sorry, I didn't know I had to announce when I was going to the bathroom," he muttered softly.

"I just didn't want you to miss the last dance," Lorelai said. She looked toward the DJ. "Okay, start the music!"

As "Wonderful Tonight" started pouring out from the speakers, Lorelai pulled Luke to the center of the dance floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck, and they started dancing. 

"This whole day. . .it was just. . ." Lorelai said. "I can't imagine a more incredible wedding."

Luke nodded in agreement.

"I can't believe it's almost over," Lorelai said with a frown. "I don't want it to end."

"Well, everything has to end eventually."

"Yeah, well, tell that to the cast of Frasier, will ya?"

"I'll send them a letter tomorrow," he replied. 

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." They kissed, then Lorelai rested her head against his chest as they danced the last dance of their wedding.

* * * * * * * * 

__

Part 62

* * * 

Over an hour later, almost all of the guests were gone, the presents had been brought into the house, and the DJ, photographers, and servers had left. 

Luke, Lorelai, Christopher, and Sherry were all talking on the front porch when Lorelai excused herself and walked into the house. 

She walked to Rory's bedroom and knocked on the door. "Rory?"

"Come in," Rory's voice called back. Lorelai pushed open the door. Rory had just changed out of her bridesmaid dress, and was now standing at the dresser. "Hey."

"Hey." Lorelai walked over to her. "You all ready to go?"

Rory pulled her hair into a ponytail and nodded. "Yup. All set."

"Good, good." 

They stared at each other for a moment before they leaned toward each other and hugged tightly. "Have a good time," Rory said. 

"And you have a good time with your Dad," Lorelai said, rubbing Rory's back. "Call me everyday."

Rory pulled back and nodded. "I will. And try not to go insane from excitement when you're in the factory."

"I'll try." Lorelai hugged her again. "I love you, kid."

"I love you, too," Rory replied. "And I'm so happy for you, Mom." She pulled back and smiled. "And your wedding was perfect."

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I know, it was."

"Everything. . .the food was good, the songs were great, the cake was fabulous, everything was so beautiful. . . "

"And the image of a drunk Miss Patty diving across the dance floor to catch the bouquet while screaming 'It's time for another husband!' will forever be vivid in my mind," Lorelai said with a laugh.

Rory laughed, then added, "And if the vividness starts to fade, we can revive it by watching that scene over and over again on the wedding video." 

"Good plan," Lorelai said.

Rory took a deep breath and glanced toward her suitcase on the bed. "Okay, well. . .I guess I should get going." 

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." She picked up the duffel bag from the floor as Rory grabbed the suitcase, and the two of them walked to the front porch. 

"Here she is. All ready?" Christopher asked Rory. 

Rory nodded. "Yup."

"Okay, let's get going," Christopher said. He took Rory's suitcase from her and started walking to the car, and the rest of the group followed behind him. As he put the suitcase into the trunk, Sherry said goodbye to Luke and Lorelai, then climbed into the car.

Rory kissed Luke on the cheek before she hugged him tightly. "Bye Luke. Have a good time."

"You too," Luke replied. "And thanks for the road trip advice."

"No problem," Rory replied as she pulled back.

"Road trip advice?" Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes at them. "What are you talking about?"

Rory smiled. "Nothing, nothing." She hugged Lorelai. "Bye Mom."

"Bye Sweets," Lorelai replied. She kissed her on the cheek, then watched as she climbed into the back seat of the car.

Christopher shook Luke's hand, then hugged Lorelai goodbye. "Congratulations again. Have a good trip."

"Thanks. Drive safe," Lorelai said. Christopher climbed into the car as Lorelai walked over to the back door. "And don't forget to call me," she said to Rory.

"I won't," Rory replied. "Bye." 

Lorelai pushed the door closed and took a few steps back from the car. Luke slipped one hand around her waist, and they both waved as the car pulled away.

When it was out of sight, Lorelai turned to Luke and smiled. "And then there were two."

"Yes, there were," Luke agreed. He took her hand and they walked into the house. 

They climbed the staircase slowly, with one of Lorelai's hands clutching onto Luke's arm and the other holding up the bottom of her dress so she wouldn't trip on it. They walked into the bedroom, and despite the fact that they were home alone, closed the door out of habit.

They stood next to the bed, staring at each other, their fingers interlocked. Lorelai glanced down at her wedding dress. "This makes me feel so pure and virginal."

Luke smirked. "Two things you are not."

Lorelai gasped and pretended to be offended, then wrinkled her nose. "Okay, no argument from me." She took a deep breath. "So. . .husband of mine. . .you wanna help me out of this outfit or do you have some fantasy about doing it with the dress on? 'Cause that might be kinda fun."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Turn around."

Lorelai smiled and obliged. Luke unzipped the back of the wedding dress and she slid the straps off and let it fall the floor. She turned around to face him, and he helped her step out of the white pile of fabric that surrounded her feet.

She unhooked her strapless bra, and he watched intently as she pulled it away from her body, as if she was revealing herself to him for the first time. He reached forward, and the feel of his warm hands against her skin sent a tingling sensation through her body. 

She closed her eyes and tilted her head up toward the ceiling as his fingers moved gently over her body, taking in the wonder of it all. He loved to touch her just as much as she liked being touched. Caressing her perfect body, listening to her appreciative sighs as he grazed over her most sensitive areas – it made him just as excited as it made her. 

He moved his hands down to her hips, where they traced the waistband of her panties before trailing up her arms to her shoulders. His thumbs lingered for a moment in the divots of her clavicles before he cupped one hand around the back of her neck and pulled her toward him, letting their lips meet in a tender kiss. 

As she pulled back from the kiss, she began unbuttoning his shirt. She slid it off and let it fall to the floor, then reached for his belt buckle. Piece by piece, the rest of their clothing came off until there was no more to remove.

They stood next to the bed for several minutes . . . kissing, touching, exploring each other's bodies, letting their arousal intensify. It was as if her sense of touch was magnified, for even the smallest act, such as his hand running through her hair, made her body surge with excitement.

Finally, they did make their way to the bed. They pulled the comforter up over themselves, covering their bodies from the waist down. He leaned down and kissed her, then whispered, "I love you."

Lorelai smiled up at him, and she ran her fingertips over his cheeks. "I love you, too," she whispered back. She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled him back down into a kiss as their bodies began moving together rhythmically. 

There was no fast rocking of the bed. The headboard didn't slam loudly against the wall. There were only soft, gentle strokes as their bodies molded to each other. When they weren't kissing, their eyes were locked together. She kept her hands on his back, tracing small circles across his smooth skin. He'd occasionally run his fingertips over the outline of her jaw, just savoring the softness of her skin. Their facial expressions and soft moans clearly conveyed the mutual pleasure they were experiencing. . .the pleasure that neither wanted to end.

But eventually, the consummation of the marriage reached its pinnacle. As their climaxes washed over them, she pulled him closer, nuzzling her nose against his neck. He rolled off of her and pulled her tightly against his body, leaving as little space as possible between them. He pulled the covers up tightly around them, and after another whispered exchange of 'I love you', they both closed their eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, they were in almost the exact same position, still snuggling close together, when Lorelai woke up. She looked at Luke still asleep next to her, and she smiled to herself. Her gaze drifted down to his hand, which was resting on her stomach. 

His wedding ring glistened in the sunlight that was streaming through the window. She rested her hand next to his and brought her gaze back and forth between his ring and her identical, yet smaller, one. She took his hand into hers and stroked his palm, occasionally running her thumb up over his ring.

She was still doing this when Luke woke up a few minutes later, and he surprised her by closing his hand around hers. She turned to him, and seeing that he was awake, smiled. "Hey."

"Hi." He blinked a few times, getting used to the brightness of the room. "What time is it?"

Lorelai glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "Almost 7:30."

Luke rubbed his eyes. "We should get up."

"We are up."

"I mean, _up_ up. Out of bed. On the road."

"Right. We should," Lorelai agreed, leaning her head against his chest.

Neither of them moved. They both lay there, staring up at the ceiling.

Lorelai patted him on the arm. "So, I'm a little sketchy on the details, but I'm pretty sure that we got married yesterday."

"Oh yeah? Well, that would explain the ring."

Lorelai glanced down at it again. "You look pretty in a ring."

"Oh, good, because all men try their hardest to look _pretty_," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

"Are you gonna wear it all the time?" Lorelai asked.

"Unless the situation calls for me to take it off."

"Like?" Lorelai prompted.

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. . .like if I'm changing the oil in the car and I don't want it to get dirty."

"Oh. . .right."

"Or if I'm trying to pick up another woman."

Lorelai smiled. "Wow, the first day as a married couple and you're already thinking about cheating."

"I don't like to waste time," Luke said.

"I see that," Lorelai said. "Speaking of time. . ." She glanced at the clock. "We should probably start that 'getting out of bed' thing we were talking about."

"Probably," he agreed.

Lorelai snuggled up against him. "Any minute now, the getting up will begin," she muttered as she closed her eyes.

"Yup, any minute," Luke said with a yawn. He kissed the top of her head, then closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

* * *

Two hours later, they had both showered and dressed, they had eaten breakfast, and they had loaded their suitcases into the car. Lorelai walked out of the kitchen into the living room. "The back door's locked, and the oven, stove, and coffee maker are all turned off."

"The side door's locked and I turned the air conditioner off so we wouldn't be wasting electricity," Luke said.

"Good thinking," Lorelai said. "I'm gonna go check upstairs and make sure we got everything." 

"Okay, I'm gonna get some CDs for the car."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "What?" She cupped her hand around her ear. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that – I don't think I heard you right."

"You heard me fine," Luke said as he walked over to the shelf of CDs.

"You're voluntarily supporting my 'every car ride needs music' platform?" Lorelai asked.

"No, not _every_ car ride needs it," Luke clarified. "But Rory informed me that music is definitely necessary when traveling for long periods of time with you."

"She's a smart girl," Lorelai said.

"I know. That's why I'm taking the advice," Luke said. He pointed up the stairs. "Now go."

"Be right back." Lorelai walked up the steps as Luke began scouring the CD collection.

A minute later, Lorelai walked back downstairs with her purse. "Good thing I checked. I almost forgot this." She walked over to Luke and looked at some of the CD's he had set out. She grabbed the one on top and said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa – what are you doing with this?"

"It's for the car," Luke replied with a shrug.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Jimmy Buffet in the _car_? Jimmy Buffet shouldn't be listened to anywhere, let alone the car. It's liable to put you to sleep while you're driving."

"Hey, we are not driving for four hours only listening to the stuff you like," Luke told her. "Jimmy's coming with us."

"Yeah, well, Jimmy might find himself getting tossed out the window," Lorelai muttered as she pulled out a couple CDs.

"Yeah, well, if Jimmy goes out the window, Bon Jovi's following right behind him," Luke said, grabbing one of her CDs.

Lorelai gasped and grabbed it back from him. "You wouldn't dare do that to my pretty little Jon Bon!" She pouted and clutched it to her chest.

"Only if provoked," Luke said. "Let's go. We still have to stop at the diner." He picked up the stack of CDs and started walking toward the door. 

Lorelai followed behind him, and she paused at the doorway. "Bye house. . .see you in a few days."

They stepped out onto the porch, and she pulled the door shut behind her. She jiggled the handle to make sure it was locked, then followed Luke down the porch steps to the Explorer.

They drove to the diner and parked right in front of the door. They both climbed out, and Luke pulled a couple of empty thermoses from the back seat. "Okay, I'm gonna go fill these up and check with Caesar about some things. If you want any snacks for the ride, run to the market," he said, pointing toward Doose's.

"Okay. I'll meet you back here," Lorelai said.

As Luke walked into the diner, Lorelai walked down the sidewalk to the market. She grabbed a basket from near the doorway and started walking through the aisles looking for good snacking foods for the car. 

When she was done, she walked up the cash register, and Taylor was surprised to see her. "Lorelai – what are you doing here?"

Lorelai held up the basket. "Uh, shopping."

"But aren't you supposed to be on your honeymoon?" Taylor asked.

"That's what the food's for," Lorelai said. "So the sooner you start using that scanner thingy, the sooner we can leave for Vermont."

"Ah, I understand," Taylor replied. He scanned the items, Lorelai paid him, and she walked out of the store. 

Miss Patty was walking down the sidewalk toward the market. "Lorelai, dear, aren't you supposed to be on – " 

"Yes, the honeymoon, we're leaving right now," Lorelai said quickly. She held up the grocery bag. "I was just getting some things for the trip."

Miss Patty smiled. "You know, the wedding was beautiful, honey. Everything was perfect." 

Lorelai grinned. "Thank you."

Miss Patty glanced down at Lorelai's wrist. "Ooh, that's gorgeous!"

Lorelai glanced down at the silver bracelet she was wearing. "Oh, yeah. Luke gave it to me this morning. We exchanged wedding presents over breakfast." 

Miss Patty gave an impressed nod as she fingered the bracelet. "Wow, the diner man has surprisingly good taste."

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, he does."

Patty leaned toward her and lowered her voice. "Before you go. . .tell me, how was the wedding night?"

Lorelai smiled. "It was very nice. . . and you know that if I say any more than that, Luke will kill me."

Patty smiled and nudged her with her elbow. "The first time as a married couple. . .it's something, ain't it?" 

Lorelai smiled and started walking down the sidewalk. "Yes, it is, Patty. See you in a few days!" she called over her shoulder.

She reached the truck just as Luke was walking out of the diner. "Ready?" he asked. 

"Yup. Let's go," Lorelai said.

They put the thermoses and the grocery bag into the back seat, then got into the front. As Luke started the engine, Lorelai pulled a piece of paper out of her purse. "Okay, we need to get to I-91."

"I-91, got it." 

As Luke pulled away from the curb, Lorelai stuck the directions in the glove compartment and pulled out two CD's. "Okay, what first – U2 or Best of Bowie?"

"Uh, U2."

"U2 it is," Lorelai said. She slipped the CD into the player. As it started playing, she slipped off her shoes, reclined her seat, put her window down, and rested her feet up on the dashboard. "This is gonna be fun, huh?"

Luke glanced over at her and smiled. "Yeah. . . yeah, it'll be nice."

* * *

A few hours later, they were driving down the highway when they saw a sign for a rest stop up ahead. Lorelai pointed to the sign and said, "Ooh, let's stop there."

"For what?" Luke asked.

Lorelai patted him on the shoulder. "Never question your wife, hon. Just do as you're told."

Luke didn't respond, but instead gave her a stern look that clearly said, 'You're insane if you think that's how this marriage is going to work.'

Lorelai smirked, then shrugged nonchalantly. "What? I have to go to the bathroom, okay? Just pull over."

Luke pulled off the highway and followed the exit ramp to the rest stop. They climbed out of the car and walked across the crowded parking lot into the building. They both went into their respective restrooms, then met back in the main area of the building. 

Lorelai glanced around at the different food offerings, and her eyes fell on a pretzel stand. "Ooh, I'm gonna get a pretzel before we leave," she said. "Come on."

She started walking to the stand, and Luke followed behind her. "You know, we have food out in the car."

"Yeah, but we don't have sugar cinnamon pretzels," Lorelai replied over her shoulder. "And that's what I feel like eating." As she got into the line behind the stand, she turned around and asked, "Do you want something?"

Luke glanced at the display of fresh-baked soft pretzels and thought about it for a moment. "Uh. . . yeah, I guess, just get me a plain one." He pointed toward the door. "I'm gonna wait out front. It's a little too crowded in here for my taste," he said, glancing at the people rushing by him in every direction.

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay. I'll meet ya out there."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Lorelai walked out of the building and found Luke waiting on a bench near the parking lot. She sat down next to him and handed him a pretzel wrapped in a napkin. "Here you go. One plain pretzel."

"Thanks."

Lorelai broke off a piece of hers and placed it in her mouth. "You know, as I was standing in line, I was looking around at the other food places, and I saw one that had these gigantic cookies, and let me tell you, I think I had to actually wipe a bit of drool from the corner of my mouth."

"They looked good, huh?"

"Very," Lorelai confirmed. "But I was still craving a pretzel."

"So you had a momentary conflict of interest?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yup, exactly. So I'm standing there, glancing back and forth between the cookie stand and the pretzel stand, trying to decide which one I want more. It was a very tough few minutes for me."

"I can imagine," Luke said. "The pretzels won out?"

"Yeah, but it was a really close call, and one of the deciding factors was that the cookie line had like a million people in it and I didn't wanna wait that long," Lorelai explained. 

"Ah, I see. A million people does seem like it would be a long wait," Luke noted.

She took another bite of her pretzel, then nodded emphatically. "But, I have to say, this is one damn fine pretzel, so I'm satisfied with my choice."

Luke nodded. "Good." A few minutes later, they finished their pretzels and continued on their way. 

* * *

It was almost three when they pulled up to the hotel. They checked in at the front desk and brought their luggage up to their room. 

"Wooooow," Lorelai gushed as she walked inside. "Man, you always seem to find the best places. This is amazing." They set their suitcases by the door and looked around. 

As Luke walked over to the desk to check out some of the brochures, Lorelai walked over to the window. "Oh my God, this view is beautiful." She stepped up onto the bed and jumped up and down a few times. "And we have a nice, sturdy bed. . ." 

Luke glanced over at her. "Get down from there."

Lorelai stepped off of it and walked over to him. "What'd ya find?"

He handed her some of the brochures. "Stuff to do in the area."

Lorelai took them over to the couch and sat down. "Let's see." She started flipping through them while Luke brought his suitcase over to the luggage rack at the foot of the bed and started unpacking some of his clothes into the dresser.

"The ice cream factory isn't open today because it's Labor Day, so we'll have to save that for tomorrow," Lorelai said, looking down at the brochure.

"Uh huh."

She looked up. "So, for the rest of today, how about we hang out here for awhile, then we go out for dinner, and then head over to Lake Champlain and just walk around by the lake," Lorelai said. "Cool?"

Luke shrugged. "Whatever you want."

"I'll have to bring the camera," Lorelai said. "I bet that's a real postcard-y type scene to see."

"You brought a camera?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. Don't you want to visually document our honeymoon?" Lorelai asked. She stood up and walked over to him. "That way we can look back on it and remember it. . .plus we can show other people what we did." She ran her hands over his chest and added, "Well, there're are some things that will remain just between us."

Luke smirked. "I hope so." He leaned forward and kissed her. 

She eagerly returned the kiss, then pulled back with a confused look. "What's that sound?"

Luke narrowed his eyes. "What sound?"

"Shh!" Lorelai hushed him, then listened for a moment. A small smile formed on her lips as she said, "Hm, I think it's Chester. . .he's yelling, 'Let me out, let me out!'"

Luke gave her an amused look. "Oh yeah? What should we do about that?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I think the only option is to let the poor guy out." She raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Ready to break in the bed?"

Luke checked his watch – the silver one that Lorelai had given him as a wedding present that morning. "Yeah, okay, I got some free time."

* * *

That night after dinner, they walked hand in hand along the lake until Lorelai stopped and said, "Wait, I wanna take a picture." She took her camera out of her purse. "I'm just gonna pretend that I know how this thing works."

"Sounds good."

She aimed it at the lake and took a picture, then turned to Luke and said, "Let's get one of the two of us in front of the lake." She handed the camera to him and said, "Here – your arms are longer."

Luke rolled his eyes. "These kinds of pictures never come out good. We'll probably end up with a picture of the sky or something."

"Well, then we'll be able to look at that picture and say, 'Aw, remember when we were standing under that sky?' That'll be a nice memory," Lorelai insisted.

She snuggled up next to him and he held the camera out at arm's length and took the picture. Lorelai smiled as he handed it back to her, and she slipped it into her purse. "Thank you."

They resumed walking, and Lorelai commented, "Good thing you told me to pack fall clothes. It's freezing out here." She buttoned up her coat and clutched onto his arm. "Brrr!"

"Think of something warm," Luke said, rubbing her arm.

"Like hell?"

"If that helps."

"It doesn't," she said sadly. "Ooh, but a nice steaming hot cup of coffee might. Or a nice hot bowl of soup. . .the new chicken kind where the pasta is shaped like goldfish. Those are cute."

"Mmhmm."

"Ooh, or a piece of warm apple pie, mm!" Lorelai licked her lips and rubbed her stomach. "Now I'm hungry."

"You're not hungry," he told her. "You just ate."

"But we didn't have dessert," Lorelai reminded him. "I need dessert. You know that I'm never satisfied until I've had dessert."

"Yeah, well, be a good girl and you'll get some back at the hotel," Luke said.

Lorelai gasped. "Dirty!"

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"

Lorelai giggled. "_Get_ _some_."

Luke rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant."

"It definitely has a double meaning," Lorelai declared. "I know what you're thinking about," she said in a singsong voice. "And I have a feeling I'm gonna get some whether I'm a good girl or not."

"We'll see."

They walked a little bit further down the shoreline before Lorelai asked, "You remember the first time we. . .uh, got some?"

"Yup."

Lorelai smiled. "Followed quickly by the second time." 

"And many more times after that," Luke added.

"It was a busy night," Lorelai commented.

"Very," he agreed. 

"Were you nervous the first time?" she asked. "I mean, the first time with me."

"A little," he admitted. "You?"

"Maybe just a teeny, tiny bit," Lorelai said. She stopped walking and turned to face him. "Do you remember the first time we said 'I love you'?"

Luke put his hands on her shoulders. "Yup. . . you cried."

Lorelai nodded. "It was just so. . ." She glanced down at the ground and shook her head. "I don't know. It was one of those moments where your emotions overwhelm you." 

He dropped one hand to her waist and pulled her up against his body. She placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled his face down until his lips met hers, and they kissed passionately. 

Lorelai pulled back, tucked her hair behind her ears, and smiled up at him. "I'm not cold anymore."

"Good." He took her hand and they continued walking along the lake. 

* * *

To be continued. . . 

__

Author's Note:

Again, thanks so much for all the feedback! I feel like I could say that a million times and it still wouldn't be enough, so I hope you all know how much I really, really appreciate it. :)

The next chapter is almost complete, and should be up within a few days. :)


	16. Part 63

"It's Right There - Part 63"

* * *

The next afternoon, Lorelai and Luke had just finished the tour of the ice cream factory. Luke, his hands shoved into his jeans' pockets, was following Lorelai around the gift shop as she excitedly searched for souvenirs.

"Oh my God!" Lorelai held up two cow-spotted coffee mugs. "How adorable are these?"

"Adorable," he replied dryly.

"You can never have too many mugs," Lorelai said.

"Uh, yes, you can," Luke said. "We only have so much cabinet space."

"Well, we'll have to move things around," Lorelai said with a shrug. "Or we'll get rid of some other stuff. Or you can build a bigger cabinet."

"Right, because me undertaking a construction project to build you storage for some new mugs is much more convenient than the other option of just _not_ _buying_ new mugs," Luke said with a nod.

"Exactly." She held them out to him. "Here, hold these. I wanna look through the T-shirt racks."

With a sigh, Luke pulled his hands out of his pockets and took the mugs. He followed her to the clothing section, and watched as she rifled through the shirts. 

When she had draped her fourth one over her shoulder to buy, Luke said, "Okay, I think that's enough shirts."

"I'm not done yet," Lorelai said. 

"Lorelai, you don't need that many," Luke said.

Lorelai scoffed. "Excuse me, Grumpy the Dwarf, when you go away on a trip, you bring back souvenirs for _other_ people. These are not all for me, so stop your whining."

"Then who are they for?" Luke asked.

She glanced at the shirts on her shoulder. "One is for me, two are for Rory, one is for Jess."

"Jess?" 

"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "He'll like it."

"Uh huh."

"And now I'm looking for one for you," Lorelai said.

"I don't need a shirt."

Lorelai ignored him and pulled a shirt off the rack. "You'd look good in this. Nice, huh?"

"Put it back. I don't need one."

Lorelai pointed across the gift shop. "Ooh, if you don't want a shirt, I saw a hat over there with a cow-spotted bill that I think would go really well with plaid. How 'bout it?"

"No, thank you."

"You gotta get something," Lorelai said. 

"I don't need anything."

"Luke, you need a reminder of our honeymoon, and we're not leaving until you have a souvenir," Lorelai declared. "So the sooner you give in, the sooner we get outta here." She folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head. 

Luke sighed and raised his hands in defeat. "Fine, you win, pick out a stupid shirt. I don't care."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."

As she started skimming the rack again, Luke said, "You do realize that the chances of me actually wearing the shirt are very slim."

"That's why I'm looking for one that'll fit you, but will also look good on me," Lorelai said.

"So, then, it's not exactly _my_ souvenir."

"No, it is, because you're gonna wear it around the hotel room later to establish initial ownership, and so then it'll officially be yours and I'll just be borrowing it."

"Ah."

Lorelai finally found him a shirt, then she draped all five that she'd picked out over Luke's shoulder. "Okay, you hold these. I need my hands free to get some other things."

Luke pursed his lips. "What other things?"

"Don't worry about it." Lorelai waved him toward the cash register. "Look, just go get in line. I'll be right there." She gave him a shove in the right direction and he exhaled loudly as he walked over to the checkout line.

A few minutes later, Lorelai walked back over, her arms full of Ben and Jerry's paraphernalia. "Man, I practically had to push some little old lady out of the way to get the last ice cream scoop, but I got it," she said, smiling proudly.

"Who the hell is all that stuff for?"

Lorelai glanced down at the items she was carrying. "Some of it's for us, some is for Sookie, I got a little something for Babette because she's getting our mail, some random things for other people. . . they're all necessary items."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Uh huh."

When it was their turn to check out, Luke set the items he was holding on the counter, then pulled his credit card out of his wallet and handed it to Lorelai. "You pay – I have no desire to see how much this comes to."

Lorelai smirked. "Fine. I'll meet you outside." Luke headed toward the door and waited outside. 

A few minutes later, Lorelai walked out with the bags. "Ready?"

"Yup." Luke took one of the bags from her, and they walked toward the car.

"You know, that was the first time I've gotten to sign my new name," Lorelai said.

Luke smiled. "Oh yeah? Did you use all three?"

Lorelai nodded. "Lorelai Gilmore Danes. . . but I've been thinking about it, and I'm not sure if I'm gonna do that all the time."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, sometimes I'll use Lorelai Gilmore Danes, and sometimes I'll just use Danes," she explained. "You know, it's kind of like dental floss."

Luke narrowed his eyes with confusion. "What?"

"Yeah, the dental floss sits in the medicine cabinet just in case you get the urge to use it one day, just like the Gilmore is still apart of my name just in case I wanna use it, but I don't necessarily have to use it all the time, just like I don't use dental floss everyday," Lorelai explained. "And really, who uses it everyday? No one I know. But just knowing it's there just in case you want it is all that matters."

Luke nodded understandably. "So. . .did you wanna stop babbling now, or did you have more to say about dental floss?"

Lorelai thought for a moment. "Nah, I'm pretty much done."

"Okay, good." 

* * *

That night, they were watching television, waiting for their room service to arrive, when Lorelai's cell phone rang. She rushed over to the desk and grabbed it. "Hello?"

"Hey," Rory replied.

Lorelai smiled. "Hey hon!" She walked back to the couch and sat down next to Luke.

"How's the honeymoon?" Rory asked. 

"Best honeymoon I've ever been on," Lorelai replied.

"That's good," Rory replied. "What did you do today? Anything that involved a yummy frozen treat?"

"Yes! We went on the tour, it was so cool," Lorelai said excitedly. "And they give you free samples, and I got Luke to try some Cherry Garcia."

"Luke ate ice cream?"

'Yup."

"Wow, he's becoming a Gilmore," Rory said.

"Yes, he is," Lorelai replied, looking over at him. "And then we went to some science museum, which was kinda cool. And now we're waiting for our dinner to arrive."

"Are you at a restaurant?" Rory asked. "I can call back later."

"No, it's okay, we're at the hotel," Lorelai replied. "We stayed in tonight and ordered room service."

"Nice," Rory commented.

"Yup. What have you been up to?" Lorelai asked. "Things going good?"

"Yeah, things are good," Rory replied. "We just got back from dinner at this improv comedy place. The food was good, and the people were really funny."

"Sounds like fun," Lorelai said.

"It was. You would've loved it," Rory said. "We'll have to find a place like that around us."

"What are you up to tomorrow?" Lorelai asked. 

"Uh, I'm not sure," Rory replied. "I think we might go to a matinee or something before he brings me home. What about you?"

Lorelai made a face. "Luke's dragging me fishing."

Rory let out a laugh. "Fishing? Wow, Lorelai and fishing are not two words that go together."

"I know, tell me about it," Lorelai said. She sighed. "The things you have to do when you're married, I'm telling ya."

"Poor girl," Rory said sympathetically.

"I know."

"Mmkay, I should go," Rory said. "I'll call you tomorrow night when I get home."

"Okay."

"Say hi to Luke for me," Rory said.

"I will," Lorelai replied. "Love ya, hon."

"Love you, too. Bye Mom."

"Bye." Lorelai smiled to herself as she turned off the phone. She patted Luke on the leg. "Rory says hi."

"She having a good time?"

"Sounds like it."

"Good."

A few minutes later, they were watching an old rerun of Happy Days when Lorelai suddenly muted it and said, "Hey?"

"What?"

Lorelai gestured toward the television. "Are you disappointed that I'm not gonna be like that?"

Luke followed her gaze. "Like what?"

"Like Mrs. Cunningham – one of those homemaker-y type wives who'll have dinner waiting for you on the table after a long day at work," Lorelai said. 

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "When have I ever shown an interest in that type of lifestyle?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. . .sometimes guys expect things to be like that when they get married."

"If I wanted someone like that, I wouldn't have married someone who was the complete opposite of that," Luke pointed out.

Lorelai reached for his hand and started aimlessly squeezing his fingers. "So you're not gonna be disappointed when you come home from work and there's not a nice home-cooked meat loaf on the table?"

Luke smirked. "Besides missing out on the entertainment value of watching you try to prepare a meat loaf, no, I won't be disappointed."

Lorelai smiled. "So. . . things are gonna be just like they were before we were married."

"Yeah." Luke narrowed his eyes and thought for a second. "Wait, didn't we already have this conversation?"

"Yeah, but. . .I don't know, I was still a little concerned about how things would go," Lorelai admitted.

"Well, things are gonna be the same," Luke assured her. He leaned over and kissed her. "Promise."

* * *

The next morning, Luke and Lorelai were eating breakfast in the restaurant of the hotel. Lorelai scooped a forkful of eggs from his plate and ate them. "Mm, these are good." She reached for a second forkful.

"You know, this might be a crazy notion, but if you wanted eggs, you should've ordered eggs," Luke said.

"But I didn't know I wanted eggs at the time I ordered," Lorelai said. "I wanted French toast back then. Things change. Deal with it."

"Yeah, well, I could deal with it better if you weren't eating all of my food." Luke took a bite of his toast, then flipped open the brochure he had brought with him from the room. "So we'll stop at the sporting goods store that's around the corner and pick up a one-day fishing license, and then it looks like there's a nice-sized lake just a few blocks from there."

Lorelai took a sip of her coffee. "Okay, you do realize that I have no idea how to fish, right?"

Luke shrugged. "It's not hard. I'll show you how to do it."

"Just like the time you tried to show me how to make marinated chicken?" Lorelai asked. "Because that didn't go over too well."

"Yeah, because you weren't paying attention," Luke reminded her.

"I was too." 

Luke sipped his orange juice, then gave her a doubtful look. "You were reading a magazine."

"But I was still listening to you," she insisted.

Luke rolled his eyes. "It comes down to the fact that the unsuccessful teaching session wasn't because of me, the teacher, but rather you, the unfocused student. This time will be different. There won't be any distractions."

"Oh, trust me, I'll find a distraction," she said, nodding her head emphatically.

* * *

That afternoon, they were at the lake, and Luke was teaching her the basics of fishing. He positioned his hands on the pole and said, "Okay, you wanna clutch onto the rod like this. . ."

Lorelai giggled. "Dirty."

He ignored her. "And hold down this little button, then throw it out toward the water like this." He cast the line into the lake. "And while it's out there, make sure you don't jerk the pole around. . ."

Lorelai giggled again.

"Or else you're gonna scare the fish away," Luke finished. "You have to be really still."

"Aren't we supposed to be going out in a boat like all those people are doing?" she asked, gesturing to some boats she saw out in the middle of the lake.

Luke nodded. "Well, the fish are easier to catch out there, but we're not wasting money on a boat, so we're just gonna fish from here. Okay, now, when you wanna pull out. . ." Lorelai giggled again, and Luke let out an annoyed sigh. "Would you please try to act like an adult for the next three minutes so I can show you how to do this?"

Lorelai put on a straight face and folded her arms across her chest. "Serious now, sorry."

"Thank you." He sighed again. "Okay, now, when you wanna pull out. . ." He paused to see if she reacted to that, but she kept her straight face. ". . .of the water, you turn this part down here." He showed her how to reel the line in. He shrugged and added, "That's all there is to it. It's really simple. Just throw it out and bring it back in."

"Sounds like a _fascinating_ activity," Lorelai said with obvious sarcasm. 

"It provides a good opportunity for thinking," he informed her, tapping the side of his head. "While you're sitting there waiting for the fish, it lets you clear your mind and think about life."

Lorelai stifled a laugh. "Wow, fishing turns you into Melodramatic Philosopher Luke. Very interesting." 

He handed her a fishing pole. "Here."

"Ooh, hey, maybe we'll discover the meaning of life while we're out here thinking," she suggested. "That'd be a good story to share with everyone when we get back home."

"Not as good as the story about you freaking out," Luke said.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes with confusion. "When did I freak out?"

"You're about to." Luke reached into his tackle box and pulled out a small plastic container. 

Lorelai eyed it curiously. "What's in there? Did you get that when you went in to buy the license?"

Luke smirked as he pulled the lid off. "Yup." He held the container out toward her.

Lorelai peeked into it, then made a face and took several steps back. "Ew, ew, ew!" She shuddered and shook her hands out animatedly. "That's so gross."

"You need bait. Here, take one," he said, walking toward her. 

Lorelai scoffed and took several more steps back. "Ew, just keep those things away from me. You know I hate worms. They're all squishy and jiggly and . . ." She shuddered again. "Ugh."

"That's kind of how I feel about Jell-o," Luke remarked. He set the container on the ground and kneeled next to it to bait his hook as Lorelai watched on from a safe distance. 

* * *

A few hours later, they were carrying their fishing stuff to the truck. "See, I don't get the point of this activity," Lorelai said. "We're sitting there for two hours before you finally catch a fish. . .and then you reel it in, look at it, then . . .throw it back in! Seems like a big waste of time to me."

"You don't always throw them back in," Luke said. "But unless you want to drive all the way back to Connecticut with a fish in the truck, there's no point in keeping it."

"And what would you have done if we were at home?" Lorelai asked. "Cooked it up and ate it?"

"Well, I'd probably clean it and de-bone it first," Luke said. "But then, yeah, cook it up and eat it. Fish is good for you."

"Yeah, well, it's not as tasty as cow," Lorelai said. She handed him her fishing pole, and he put it into the back of the truck as she sniffed her hand and made a face. "Ugh, I smell like. . .nature."

"You can take a shower when we get back to the hotel," Luke said. 

"I'm gonna have to take a four hour one to get this smell off of me," Lorelai said. "It'd be easier to just leave it on me and pretend that this is my new normal smell."

"Yeah, because standing under a stream of running water and applying soap to yourself can be a very difficult task." 

Lorelai frowned. "The mockery is not appreciated."

"Neither was your whining for the past hour, but I dealt with it." He took hold of her arm and pulled her toward him, capturing her lips in a kiss. He pulled back and made a face. "Ew, you do smell."

Lorelai gasped and smacked him on the shoulder. "Shut up. So do you."

Luke smirked as he pushed her toward the passenger side door. "Well, the faster you get in, the faster we can get to the hotel and take a shower."

* * *

The next morning, Lorelai woke up and realized that she was alone in the bed. She glanced toward the bathroom, and through the closed door, could hear the faint sound of running water.

She yawned as she groggily climbed out of the bed and walked to the bathroom. She pushed open the door and found Luke at the sink brushing his teeth, a towel wrapped around his waist and his wet hair slicked back. He glanced over at her and smiled. "Hey."

"Hi."

She leaned against the doorway as he finished brushing, and as he wiped his mouth on a towel, he walked over to her. "Hungry?" 

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah."

"Room service?"

Lorelai stifled a yawn as she stretched her arms up over her head. "Yeah, that sounds good." She rubbed her eyes. "I guess I'll take a shower while we're waiting for it." She leaned forward and hugged him, resting her head against his bare chest.

"I don't think rubbing up against someone who just took a shower constitutes as taking one yourself," Luke mused.

She looked up at him and stroked the sides of his neck with her thumbs. "Hey?"

"What?" He rested his interlocking fingers on the small of her back and pulled her closer.

She nuzzled her nose against his neck and whispered, "I had a great honeymoon."

Luke kissed the top of her head. "Good. Me, too."

* * *

A few hours later, they were at the same rest stop they'd stopped at on the way to Vermont, though this time Lorelai opted for the cookie instead of the pretzel. They were sitting on a bench in the parking lot while she ate it, and she suddenly pulled out her cell phone. "You know, I haven't called Sookie this whole time."

"So you're gonna call her now when we're only two hours from seeing her?" Luke asked.

"Yup." Lorelai dialed the inn and nibbled on her cookie while she listened to the ringing.

"Independence Inn, Michel speaking," Michel answered.

"Michel, hi, it's me," Lorelai replied.

"Oh. What do you want?"

"Nice to talk to you, too," Lorelai said. "How's everything going?"

"Oh, after four days you finally call to check up on things? How nice."

"I was busy, Michel. You only have one honeymoon," Lorelai reminded him. "Well, unless you're Larry King. But anyway, I'm calling now. . . so tell me, how are things?"

"Well, I turned the lobby into a discotheque, but everyone seems to have taken to it quite well," Michel said. 

"Oh yeah? That's nice. Don't shake your thing too much, it might scare the tourists," Lorelai said. "Now pass me onto Sookie, please."

Michel sighed into the phone, and then there was silence. Almost a minute passed before Sookie finally picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey Sookie," Lorelai said.

"Lorelai! What are you doing? How's the honeymoon?"

"Great, it was perfect," Lorelai replied. "We're on our way home."

"Oh, good," Sookie replied. "So, tell me, were you _that_ couple?"

Lorelai smiled. "You know what. . .surprisingly not. We actually went out and did stuff. . .museums, the ice cream factory, restaurants, we even went fishing. Apparently there's more to this marriage besides the physical attraction. . .who woulda thought?"

Luke narrowed his eyes at her, wondering exactly what they were talking about.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time," Sookie said.

"How are things there?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, everything's good. The workers went over and took down the tent and the tables and everything out of your yard."

"Oh, good. I'd forgotten about that," Lorelai said. "Rory didn't mention it when I talked to her yesterday."

"Oh, I saw her and Dean last night at Al's," Sookie said. "She said she had a good time with her dad."

"Yeah, she did. I can't wait to get home and see her."

"She's looking forward to seeing you, too."

"Aw, good." Lorelai smiled. "Okay, we'll be home in a few hours, so I'll probably see you tonight."

"Okay, honey. Bye."

"Bye."

Lorelai turned off the phone, slipped it into her purse, and shoved the last piece of cookie into her mouth. "Ready?" she mumbled with her mouth full.

Luke nodded. He stood up and they started walking to the car. "It's my turn to pick the CD."

Lorelai gasped. "Nuh uh, you picked the last one!"

"The Moulin Rouge soundtrack?" Luke asked. "Uh, try again. That was all you."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Oh yeah." She sighed. "Okay, fine, it's your turn. What's it gonna be this time?"

As they approached the truck, Luke pulled the keys out of his pocket and twirled them around his finger. "I'm thinking maybe the Eagles."

Lorelai giggled. "Okay."

"Something funny?"

Lorelai smiled and shook her head. "Nope." 

They stopped at the back of the truck, and he narrowed his eyes at her. "_What_?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but you don't really know the words to Hotel California."

"So what?" 

"So it's fun watching you try to sing along because you just kind of mumble the entire time until they get to the chorus and then you sort of shout out the Hotel California part extra loudly as if that'll make up for you not knowing the rest of the words." Lorelai laughed. "It's highly entertaining." 

Luke rolled his eyes and pointed to the passenger door. "Just get in the car or I'm leaving you here." Lorelai smirked at him and they climbed into their seats. She put on the CD as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home.

* * *

A few hours later, they pulled up to their house, and Lorelai jumped out of the truck. She ran across the yard and burst through the front door. "Rory, we're home!"

There was no answer. Lorelai frowned as she walked to Rory's bedroom. Empty.

"Rory!" she called. She glanced at the kitchen table hoping to find a note, but there was nothing there.

She walked to the living room as Luke walked through the front door with a suitcase. "Thanks for the help," he said.

"She's not here," Lorelai said sadly, fingering the strap of her purse that was resting diagonally against her chest.

"No? Is there a note?" Luke asked as he set the suitcase by the staircase.

"Not that I see. . ."

"Maybe there's a message on the machine," Luke said, walking over to the desk. "Aha." He picked up a piece of paper and read, "Mom, went to the diner with Lane at two. I'll be back around three."

Lorelai walked over and snatched the note from his hands. "Mom, went to the diner with Lane at two. I'll be back around three," she read.

"Huh. . . sounds vaguely similar to what I just read," Luke muttered.

Lorelai took hold of Luke's wrist and checked the time on his watch. "It's twenty of. Let's go to the diner."

"Why? She'll be home in. . ." Luke's voice trailed off in response to the evil glare she was giving him. "Well, I should probably check in on Caesar anyway," he decided.

"Good boy. Let's go." She took his hand and pulled him out the front door, and they walked to the diner.

As they approached the town square, they saw Rory and Lane walking down the sidewalk toward Kim's Antiques. "Rory Gilmore!" Lorelai called.

Rory turned around toward the sound, and smiled when she saw Lorelai. "Hey!" They jogged toward each other and hugged in the center of the street. 

"Ah, I missed you so much!"

"Me, too," Rory said. She pulled back and smiled as Luke walked up to them. "Hey Luke."

"Hey. How was the trip?"

"Good, yours?" Rory asked. "I see you survived the car ride."

"Yeah, just barely," he said with a smile. He put his hand on Lorelai's shoulder. "Hon, I'm gonna go check with Caesar."

Lorelai's eyes widened and she slowly turned to look at him. "What did you say?"

Slightly confused, he narrowed his eyes and repeated, "Uh, that I'm gonna go check with Caesar."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, you said, '_Hon_, I'm gonna go check with Caesar.'"

"Did I?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah. You've never said that before."

"I think I have."

"No, you haven't. I've said it like a million times, but you've never said it. . . at least not while I was paying attention."

Luke, failing to see why this was exciting to her, shrugged. "Okay. . .well, it must've slipped out."

Lorelai kissed him on the cheek. "Well, I hope it slips out again. It's sweet."

Luke adjusted his baseball cap and gestured toward the diner. "Uh, so. . .I'll be at the diner."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay." As Luke walked toward the diner, she turned to Rory and smiled. "My husband just called me hon."

Rory smiled and nodded. "I heard. It was cute." A car honked at them, and Rory said, "Maybe standing in the street's not the best idea." They linked arms and walked over to Lane on the sidewalk. 

"Hey Lane. Whatcha got there?" Lorelai asked, pointing to the box Lane was carrying.

"Oh, I got this whole box of old CDs at a yard sale a few days ago for ten bucks, and we just finished going through them," Lane explained.

"Cool. Find anything good?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, I definitely got my money's worth," Lane replied.

"Good." Lorelai tapped Rory on the arm. "So, tell me, do I look any different?" She sucked in her cheeks and turned to the side.

Rory stepped back and looked Lorelai up and down. "No. Why?"

"Because this is the first time you've seen me in the daylight as a married woman." Lorelai scoffed as if Rory should have picked up on that fact. "Come on, there's gotta be something different-looking about me."

Rory glanced at Lane, who shrugged and said, "Don't ask me. . .I don't see it."

Rory nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me either. There's no difference, Mom. Sorry."

Lorelai frowned. "The observation skills of teenagers today are shockingly low."

"O. . .kay," Rory replied slowly. "Um, I'm gonna go help Lane put these CDs away into her intricate filing system and I'll meet you at home."

Lorelai frowned. "Aw, how long are you gonna be?"

"Not too long," Rory promised. "Like fifteen minutes or so. Then I'll come home and we can swap trip stories all night long and plan what we're gonna do this weekend."

"Your last weekend before school starts," Lorelai added.

"Yup, my last weekend with no homework. We have to use the time wisely," Rory said.

"Okay." Lorelai leaned forward and kissed Rory on the cheek. "Meet ya at home. Bye Lane."

"See ya."

Lorelai watched the two of them walk toward Kim's Antiques, then she turned around and walked toward the diner. She was about to pull open the door when Luke walked out. "Hey." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Where's Rory?"

"She's helping Lane with something," Lorelai replied, gesturing over her shoulder toward the Kim's house. "She's gonna meet me at home in a little while. What are you doing? Staying here?"

"I'm gonna go home and unpack, then come back here and take over so Caesar can leave a little early," Luke said. "He could use some time off."

"Sounds good," Lorelai said. 

They started walking down the sidewalk toward their house. As they neared the gazebo, a woman pushing a baby stroller was coming from the other direction. As they passed by her, Lorelai and Luke both glanced into the stroller and saw the sleeping baby nestled inside. They shared a brief look before they both stared straight ahead and continued walking home.

Finally, Lorelai broke the silence. "Luke, we haven't talked about it in awhile."

Luke didn't have to ask what she was talking about. He knew that she was thinking about the same thing he was. "I know," he replied.

Lorelai stopped walking and turned to face him. She reached down and took his hands into hers. "I still want one."

Luke nodded. "Me, too."

"Yeah?"

He stroked the top of her hands with his thumbs. "Absolutely."

Lorelai smiled, then reached into her purse, fumbled around inside, and pulled out a compact. "Then just say the word and I'll go off the pill."

Surprised, Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "You carry those things around with you all the time?"

"No, but I had them in my purse for the trip instead of packing them in my suitcase," Lorelai explained. She waved him off and shook her head. "But forget that. Just say it. . .just say that you're ready to start trying and I'll stop taking 'em."

Luke rested his hands on her waist and pulled her closer. "Are you sure that you're ready?"

"Uh, I think I've kind of made that point clear by the fact that I'm practically ready to throw these pills down the street," Lorelai said, shaking the compact at him.

Luke took it from her. "No, don't do that. You shouldn't litter unless it's directly in front of the market to tick Taylor off." 

"Well, the point is. . .that I'm ready." Lorelai tilted her head and stared at him questioningly. "What about you?"

He stared down at the compact for a moment, then brought his gaze up to look into her eyes. She was staring back at him with an almost nervous look as she waited for him to respond. He reached forward and slipped the compact into her purse, then placed his hand on her cheek as he kissed her. 

Lorelai kissed him back softly, then pulled back and swallowed hard. "Well?"

Luke brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Go off 'em."

Lorelai's eyes widened and a small smile formed on her lips. "Yeah? You mean it? You're ready?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah."

Lorelai's smile widened and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged her back tightly as she said, "Oh my God, we need to start thinking of baby names! And we better start buying baby clothes. Ooh, I wonder if they make little baby coffee mugs! Oh, and we need to start buying toys. They have such cute things out there nowadays, we really – "

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Luke interrupted as he pulled back from her. "Why don't you wait until you're actually pregnant to start doing stuff like that."

Lorelai grinned and rubbed her palms together. "I'm just excited."

"I know. . .so am I, but let's just wait," Luke said. "Especially since if anyone in town sees you buying stuff like that, it'll be all over within minutes that we're trying to have a kid."

"And then you'll have the whole town just staring at you, wondering when the hell you're gonna do your job and knock me up," Lorelai added with a smirk.

"Yes, and that kind of pressure can be very difficult to work under," Luke informed her.

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I understand. The possibility of disappointing an entire town with your sexual prowess could be pretty detrimental to your ego."

"Yes, it could," he confirmed.

They smiled at each other for a moment before Lorelai raised up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. As he returned the kiss, he gently stroked her back with his fingertips. She pulled back with a content sigh and smiled at him. "So. . .let's go home," she said. Luke nodded. Lorelai laced her fingers through his and they continued walking down the sidewalk.

* * *

__

THE END

* * *

Author's Note:

Wow. It feels very weird, and kind of sad, to type "The End". . .but yes, it's true, it's the end. 

Yes, I had intended to take this storyline even further, but I kind of need to take a break. Relax. Let my fingers rest from all the typing. So, after much thinking, I finally decided it was time to end the story. But if there's enough interest, maybe I'll write a sequel someday picking up where this one left off. Any interest?

Okay, since this is my last chance to show my appreciation, I will bring it out in full force – thank you, thank you, thank you a million times over! I was completely blown away by the support and encouragement that I received for this story. Every single one of you who has ever given me feedback, no matter how long or how short, no matter if it was positive or negative, I thank you tremendously for reading this story and for letting me know how you felt about it. It's my first Luke/Lorelai story, and while I know it wasn't _always_ in perfect character, it was still incredibly fun starting up and developing a relationship between these two characters that I love to death.

It's also my last chance to get feedback for the story, so I'll bring that out in full force, too. Please review – I'm _very_ curious to know just how many people have actually been following this story. Any and all feedback will be _greatly_ appreciated. What'd you think of the story? What'd you think of the last chapter? What'd you think of the ending? And if you're too shy about reviewing, email me and let me know your thoughts – dadstock@aol.com

Okay, well, after 10 very long months, and approximately 1100 pages spread throughout several Word documents, I'm officially declaring this story complete. Thanks so much for reading! :)

Ann :)


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